One aspect of American culture I never before reflected upon is the individuality our country promotes for all its citizens. I was talking to a friend of mine, who is an exchange student from Japan, and she was telling me how bummed she was to leave America because she feels her country does not promote freedom of expression as much as America does. Personally, I like this part of our culture. People can feel free to express themselves in any way they want and do what they want with their lives. Of course, all of America is not so accepting, but at Rollins I have never felt like I could not express myself freely. This can range from the way a person dresses, the ideas they have, their personality, their sexual orientation, their future career goals, etc.. In American culture all these things can be different in each individual. While the friend I made from Japan enjoys this aspect of our culture, some may not. From classes I have taken I have learnt that we a very collectivist culture would not agree with the way we operate. Our actions, to some, would seem odd or even selfish and self-centered. By putting myself in the viewpoint of a person from a collectivist culture I can see how they feel that way, but, personally, I am very thankful for this aspect of or culture and hope to never take it for granted. This exercise has helped me for my time abroad in that I am reminded that there are things about American culture that are not practiced everywhere. Having never left America I am accustomed to the way things work here and people attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs; however, when I’m abroad I need to remember that I may not have everything in Rome that I had in America and I need to embrace this rather than resent it.
