Collect Recall Ask Questions

One’s identity is constantly being shaped through everyday experiences. One’s cultural background and heritage provides each person the foundations of our identities on which we ourselves will build upon as we get older. As a child we are raised by our family and are brought up to adhere to the social values, morals, ethics and cultural practices in which they follow thus providing the basis of how we initially see ourselves and the world. Innocence leads us to believe everyone’s lives are the same as ours. However in multicultural countries such as Australia and America there is a vast diversity of people and cultures. As one matures and continuously interacts with others from a wide range of cultures, we become sentient of differences and similarities between other people’s lives and our own lives. Learning from, influencing and shaping each other’s identities through every encounter our identity is slowly defined by every encounter, every thought, every action and every word spoken; leading to greater appreciation and deeper understanding of others and their cultures and often times accepting and integrating some of the best aspects of their cultures and lives into our own lives. Thus interracial marriages has become nothing short of ordinary in today’s society. However it is also not uncommon grow to dislike, misunderstand and even loathe others of different cultures and different worlds due to negative encounters and misunderstandings which results in changing our perspective to see ourselves as superior to others, refusing to appreciate their culture. Such dangerous attitudes give birth to racism and in worse cases totalitarianism which brings about conflicts and violence. The internet provides access to any video, literature and information as well as worldwide social networking websites where one can encounter and learn from any one in any country and learn of different worlds and cultures. However this ability granted by the internet acts as a double-edged sword in which encourages appreciation, learning and understanding of many different worlds and cultures from around the world but may also encourage negative attitudes towards others. Thus encounters with different worlds and cultures challenges the way in which we see ourselves.

When individuals are exposed to different worlds, this can cause them to challenge their own personal identity, opinions and values as their mind is opened to a whole new experience of life. The culture which a person belongs to from birth is generally considered the ‘norm’ and individuals become accustomed to the traditions and rituals which come along with this. Being introduced to a different world can mean that a whole new view of the world can be established, which might challenge what was once considered typical. It can be difficult to assimilate to new cultural traditions, due to stereotyping and judgement which is faced in society in general. Not only this, but prejudice and cultural boundaries which have been established for generations often need to be broken to truly understand a different world to our own. This can cause an individual to question what they have always known against new and exciting, yet diverse opinions about life and traditions. Along with this questioning of self, the true justification of a person and their self worth can be seen, as it is ultimately the strength of the individual which is the deciding point as to whether different worlds challenge the way we see ourselves.

Living in one place since the day you were born makes us no better than our ancestors who believed the earth was flat. The different cultures that make the human race are the 'Copernicus' to our singular way of life. This should not challenge us. This should make us humble and accepting and eager to learn.

Throughout the world, each and every living being, is different. As they were born from a number of countries around the world, the way they see and live life are different from each other. The culture distinguishing the identity of a human, are precious towards them, as it portrays their behavior and actions from their beliefs, religion, traditions, values and etc, which have been side along with them since the day they were born. As each of us is introduced to another with a different culture, we begin to analyze and observe their way of living. Their culture and beliefs begin to make us and others wonder on how we see life, and question our own culture. We may begin to discriminate others and judge them as their culture may seem so foreign and abnormal towards us. Some are challenged with the way they see themselves, as they may believe that their culture is more superior then others. However, we cannot resolute that one culture is higher than another, as it is preposterous. For who are we to judge and discriminate others for their own ways of beliefs in living. We cannot really do anything about it, we have no rights to have the authority to be prejudice towards others cultures, all we must do is accept other people's values, and their own worlds. Different worlds are the reasons in which may separate human beings from other human beings. However, all we must do is place our feet in their shoes and ask ourselves if we want to be judged with such disgrace, and we all conclude towards the same answer. That we don't. Therefore being judgmental towards others and how they portray their life is something we shouldn't do, but accepting and respecting different worlds can help believe and strengthen our bond between other people and also enable us to value our own identity more.

From the moment we were born we were exposed to a specific culture that gradually the became significant as the beliefs and traditions has an effect on your life. However, as we are exposed to another culture with different beliefs and traditions we suddenly see another perspective of someone else's life due to their belief system. Thus, this makes us challenge how we see ourselves and question if our way of life is the right way in comparison with another culture. At this point of time we question ourselves if our culture is the best way to live out. We either believe another culture is right in relation to the way of life or go against it and argue that your culture is more valuable. But, we must always remember everyone has their own sense of the right way of life from the influence of their culture.