Student’s name
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Cultural Identity
Cultural identity has been an issue that has been of great importance to me, especially with the mixing of different cultures and how they learned from one another. This also does not exclude the issue of how some of these cultures look down upon one another. Therefore it is always important to look into issues that affect a person not from the perspective of their positive side and the negative side and take precautions. This is not being pessimistic, as most people might say, but in a real sense, it is the issue of being careful and trending on the right path. There were many expected outcomes from my family back in Nigeria with my travel to the united states. Still, when I came into the united states, these expectations from people at home were not to be met in any way since it was a fight for survival.
Even though there have been many improvements towards racism in the United States of America, it is yet to be fully done away. I experienced this same thing when I stepped y foot on the land, as most people call it “land of opportunities.” However, I tend to have disbelief towards this concept since if it is the land of opportunities, then it means that there should be equality and peace among all kinds of people. When I came here, I was ready to begin a long journey of catching up and convincing the people I met with that Nigeria was not the same place of violence as majorly known. But rather devoted to my country, I was willing to try and make sure that my country is seen as a place of good people, who have good hearts and that we had a great culture which so many people around the world could admire. I wanted to show the world how the Igbo had so much power in their culture, and they made sure that everything they did was done perfectly under their culture and did not at any point wish to compromise their beliefs.
However, this was no easily achievable. This was because my main objective to the United States was to study and become a better person to go back to my community and serve as well as my country. However, my interaction with other students from the time I came here brought me a different perspective from just focusing on my studies. It made me know that my studies were part of my formation and that my desires and love for my culture could not be taken away by my experiences in America. This means that culture is very inbound and cannot be separated from a person. This was why I stopped focusing on my studies even though most of the time and attention had to go to my studies and began interacting and learning about my friends and coursemates.
The realization that culture is so deep and could even be recognized within me without having to do so much makes me realize that cultural identity was an important aspect of human life. I had to embrace it. Therefore even though it was a very difficult part to realize that one is Nigerian and it was impossible to change this, I also realized that the stereotypes about culture were not always true. A person could live their lives without having to prove a point. I learned that the best way for those who negatively understood my culture was to live my life to the best and make sure that they see the real self apart from what they have learned from the stereotypes about Nigerian culture.
The transition has been difficult but at the same time beneficial because I have been able to get friends and learn about their cultures, and this has developed my perception when it comes to culture and what it means for a person to belong to a certain culture. Therefore cultural identity is part and parcel of humanity. Most of the time, even a person does not need to do a lot to identify that another is from a certain culture. This, therefore, means the best thing is to live as one people and not allow stereotypes to get into the minds of a person but rather know that every person is unique and their culture has its beauty.
Jermaine Byrant
Nicole Johnson
OVER
RATING
YEARS
