This is going to be a pretty random, short post that is mostly the product of procrastination, but nonetheless, I feel like sharing my thoughts about this.
One of my final papers this semester (which happens to be my last semester of classes before I go on internship, HOLLAAAA) is a “cultural autobiography”. It’s for a class I’m taking about working with culturally diverse individuals in my field. Basically, I have to write a paper about how my culture and the things that have happened to me in life have shaped my beliefs and values, and why. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, it hasn’t been for me.
I’m a white girl born and raised in Michigan in a middle class family. I am the essence of the majority culture where I am living. Sure, there are things that have shaped how I view the world that can be considered aspects of my culture. Every single person on the planet has a culture that they identify with and can probably pinpoint how that culture has had an impact on how they view the world. But, I’m honestly a little uncomfortable writing about how my culture has impacted my worldview when I’ve honestly had it so easy in comparison to so many others. Has being a more liberal-leaning female in a white, middle-class, conservative family been easy 100% of the time? Of course not. But those little disagreements I have with family based upon my views of the world are nothing but an annoyance to me that I get over in a moment’s time. They in no way compare to the magnitude of what other individuals in my country face.
Another aspect that makes me unsettled about this assignment is that it’s making me realize how ordinary I really am. I love the idea of being a different and unique individual (I am an Aquarius, after all), and learning about other cultures and about things that make them stand out from the majority always reminds me that I’m not that special. Not that I need to be, but it’s just one of those things that puts me back in my place regarding who I am. If I had to guess, my paper will probably look like most of the other papers that will be turned into my professor (my field is predominantly made up of white women, so there are zero men and only a handful of women of color in my class, which is made up of 2/3rds of the students currently in my program).
I have ideas of things that I can write about, so I’m not worried about that part of it, and even if I didn’t have ideas, the due date is still a few weeks out. I’m just getting my feelings out there that it is making me a little uncomfortable that I have to write about perceived “hardships” that aren’t at all hard.
Well, whatever. I better suck it up and get back to picking away at this paper (and at the other 30 assignments I have to finish between now and May). Happy Friday, kids.
– Jessica
The Uncertain Adventures of the Joke that is My Life 