Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

One microaggression that I noticed this week was the fact that one of my coworkers (lead teacher) called another one of my coworkers (teacher assistant) dingy after a comment she stated about herself. She stated that she did not want anything else hit her upside the head. She was accidently hit upside the head with a chair that the lead teacher was moving at the time. The lead teacher said “we don’t want anything to hit your head again, we don’t want you any dingier than what you already are.” Now she laughed and said that she was playing but I knew she meant it, otherwise she would not have said it. I found it rude that she actually said that. I think that she would be stereo typing her as a blond even though she is not technically one. I found it rude that she actually said it right in front of her but made it seem like a joke. The assistant just smiled but I could tell that it hurt her feelings. Those inside jokes can hurt someone even if that person who said it “thinks” that no one caught it.

Perspectives on Culture & Diversity

I talked to three of my family members and they stated that the definition of culture and definition is that diversity means  an area of people of different decent, different characters, outlooks on life, upbringing, and people that come from all walks of life. Culture is also seen as the way you were raised, traditions passed on through generations. Diversity is seen as racial equality, gender equality, and equal opportunity. Equal representation, gender, racial, socioeconomic status, and ect are considered in diversity. 

From what I learned this week and my family's opinions on culture and diversity is that it is important to respect people's culture as well as the diversity in the world. People can't look at others and just judge them based on how they look and the stereotype that they are exposed to it. It is rude to assume that everyone is the same if they are the same race as someone else. That particular person has their own personal culture that makes them who they are through that culture. Just because someone looks Hispanic does not mean that they are from Mexico, they could be from Guatemala or Cuba. No matter where someone comes from they should have the opportunity to make happen of what they want to achieve in life. 

My Family Culture

If I were to evacuate to another country, the three items that I would choose to bring with me would be my princess Jasmine Arabian nightgown, my great grandmother’s necklace, and a picture of my parents. I know the first one may sound a little weird but I had a love for princess Jasmine as a kid and my mother just so happened to actually buy me a nightgown with Jasmine’s picture on it with a hood in the back. Once I became an adult, I had vowed to myself that when I have a daughter one day, I would pass that nightgown on to her. That nightgown is very special to me and I still hold on to it til this very day. I just hope that my future daughter will love it just as I did. My second item belonged to my great grandmother. My aunt found a lot of jewelry that belonged to her and gave them to me. I had found a necklace that had a purple stone in the middle. I keep that necklace in remembrance of her. My third and final item would be a picture of my parents. I don’t have an immediate family picture of me and my brothers but I do have the separate. One of me and my brothers and then I have one of just my parents. So between those two I would pick my parents picture. I love my parents very much. They have grown and been through a lot in raising me and my brothers. I know that they will not be around forever so I do need something to remind me of both of them. If I were told to just keep one item, I would be a hard decision for me to choose. Surprisingly I would choose the picture of my parents because they are very special to me out of the materialistic items.

Culture and diversity is no big shock to me because back in 2008, I did an academic tour of Europe. Upon going on this trip, I learned a lot about different cultures and how I was supposed to let my narrow thinking down. What I did at home in my country, I could not do in Europe as well as learning a little bit of German, French, and Italian to survive. We had a translator most of the way. Even when we left Europe, some people had to let go some of the items that they had bought from certain countries and they were highly upset. Thank God that no one got rid of any items. I went home with some great souvenirs. It is always important to think about those who move to our country for whatever reason and to be able to support them in their transition. America can be quite selfish when it comes to culture but you find that in other countries a lot of people can speak various languages and can be quite open “sometimes”. We have such a melting pot that I think that us as Americans can be a little less bias and learn to embrace various cultures.