Culture Sharing by Brittney

Culture Sharing by Brittney - September 2019 Scholarship Essay

The United States is a huge melting pots. We have a variety of ethnicities that reside here. And with that large amount of diversity, culture and tradition is accompanied by it. It’s fairly easy to be left out or excluded because everybody’s “normal” is not the same. I remember moving from my hometown in Atlanta, Georgia. I had moved to Texas. From what I saw on the news, Texas was supposed to be this huge desert with cacti everywhere. It was supposed to be this place where kids rode their horses everywhere, and everybody drank root beer. I was completely wrong.
I first noticed the makeup of my school. There were a lot of people who looked different, smelled different and even ate different. See in Atlanta there are predominantly African American people, like me. So imagine my surprise to see students who’d stop and go pray, in a small corner of the room at a certain time. And lunchtime was a complete culture shock when lunchtime came around. Some students would actually eat with these long wooden sticks, which I now know as chopsticks. Some students would eat everything except for pork, I always though “who doesn’t like pork chops?”. And the biggest surprise, some students would fast, and eat nothing all day until a specific time. I had never seen anything like this.
I went through school seeing more cultural differences and became very intrigued. By the time I was a freshman in high school, I had asked so many questions that I was able to understand some students’ culture. Like when we had to dissect a tiny piglet, which I opted out by choice, but some students couldn’t for religious reasons. I remember thinking how interesting it was to see students practice their culture. Unfortunately, everybody doesn’t think alike. Some people are ignorant towards others, therefore people may be treated negatively because of their cultural differences. Like in instances where students have to wear specific clothing due to religious requirements. In some instances, people who are not educated will feel compelled to act irrationally towards others, which is why I feel that the Culture Sharing Club should exist.
This would be such an educational extracurricular activity for all students for students who want to learn about other’s cultures, and students who want to share their culture. This would create a non-judgmental safe space for all students. Students would be able to bring objects that comply with school policies, like food or artifacts, and share their history and culture. Whereas curious students like myself would be able to ask open and respectful questions. There are too many countries, with many cultures that we don’t know about. Education is the passport to success.
“Cultural differences should not separate us from each other, but rather cultural diversity brings a collective strength that can benefit all of humanity."
- Robert Alan Aurthur