Being Different

The lesson this week was all about diversity and how to deal with differences. I think Easten did a great job of leading discussions and following up fun activities with conversations about how they applied to diversity. He allowed us to talk about the topic which I think helped to make everyone more interested in the lesson.

The "all my neighbors" ice breaker is one of my favorites. We played it during my freshman recitation session and I've played it multiple times during social events at my fraternity. It is a great way to learn about things you have in common with the other people you are playing with. It also showed me how many different groups we all fall in. As peer mentors, we are a fairly diverse group which I think is necessary for effectively helping the 100 incoming Hixsons next Fall. Having a variety of people with different cultural experiences is a definite advantage for us when facing the numerous questions the freshmen will have for us.

I consider myself very fortunate when it comes to accepting people that are different than me. My older sister, Cassie, was adopted from South Korea so growing up I didn't see her as different, I just saw her as family. Now we like to mess with people every once in a while. One time she dropped me off at an activity and some of my peers came up to me and asked who she was. I said she's my sister and that I'm the adopted one. We both think it's pretty funny. One of my cousins, who still stays in close contact with our family is gay so I've been exposed to that culture quite a few times. I think experiencing different cultures as much as possible is the best way to understand them. I can understand how some people aren't as accepting of certain groups if the only things they know about them are stereotypes. I believe spreading awareness of the diversity of people and cultures in the world is the only way to achieve global empathy.