Perspectives of Diversity

For this assignment I spoke with my friend Crystal who is an African American, my co-worker Jesus Diaz who is Hispanic and my friend Jarrod Stone who is Jamaican. Crystal defines culture as one’s religion, family values, and tradition. Her definition of diversity is the grouping of different backgrounds or what other people are made of. 

When speaking with Jesus Diaz about culture he explained culture as a bond that families share with each other as they tie their everyday living into their family’s values. His definition of diversity is the way others perceive your everyday living and how others see what it fit for you. 

As I spoke with Jarrod, he basically defined culture as the foods, traditions and values that each family share. Diversity to him is a unique characteristic that makes us different from the rest. 

From what I learned in this course thus far, basically everyone’s definition of culture and diversity is a reflection of one’s customs, beliefs and values.  Everyone has their own definition of what culture mean to them because it is something that is shared and expressed among each family. Diversity within itself represents the overall differences within various cultures and ethnicity.

Some aspects that was omitted when speaking with my friends and colleagues was the overall aspect of race and religion as it relates to culture. They mostly spoke about their various traditions, values, foods or customs. No one mentioned their religious beliefs which can have a major impact on one’s upbringing.

After listening to others views of culture and diversity it has broaden my understanding that we must look beyond the overall basics of one’s race and ethnicity. Overall we all understand that our life experiences and differences are what make us diverse. We have to look more in dept to understand who people really are in order to get a full understand of what they are made of.

My Family Culture

A description of three items that you would choose:

If I had to leave the United States due to a major catastrophe , I would take with me my family photo album that holds valuable memories of my family and I. I would also take my Bible because it is the foundation in which I stand on. The last item that I would take is my family quilt because it was inherited from my great grandparents and has been around to share with the present generation and the generations to come. 

How you would explain to others what each of these items mean to you?

 

My Bible is the book of life that gives me structure and help me be obedient in my way of living. It guides me and teaches me how to love others, how to have the fear of God, and how to stand and believe in his word.

My family photo album represents the faces of relatives who are in heaven and those who are still here on Earth. There are many heart filling memories within the photo album. It was inherited from my great grandparents.  We continuously pass the album down to each generation so that we can share the memories with our love ones of special events in our lives. We are able to preserve the legacy, memories and keep sake of my past generation, the present generation, and the generations to come. 

My family quilt was made from the cotton that my ancestors picked. We continue to add on to the quilt as the family grows. At our annual family reunion we have an arts and craft station in which each generation adds new patterns to our quilt. It is something that is so meaningful to my family.

Your feelings if, upon arrival, you were told that you could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items you brought with you .

 

I would be devastated because it is a part of my culture that keeps me connected to my ancestors. I will keep the photo album so that my children and their future children can see the faces of their ancestors. I will leave my Bible because I have the word of God in my mind and heart so therefore it is always with me. I will cut a pattern of the quilt and place it in my photo album and began a new quilt for myself, my children, and my great grandchildren so that we will always have a part of our ancestors with us.

Any insights you gained about yourself, your family, culture, diversity and /or culture differences in general as a result of this exercise  

I learned the importance of appreciating your family inheritance. It allowed me to embrace some of the struggles that we encounter in life, because in a matter of seconds everything can be destroyed. Overall I have learned the importance of family structure, obedience and my way of living. I will no longer take things for granted and enjoy life for what it is worth.