One prominent aspect of U.S. culture is individualism. People in the U.S. value individualism in many aspects of daily life. In other words, many people in the U.S. will prefer to do things on their own or judge people by their own actions. People who don’t live in cities may prefer to drive themselves instead of sharing space with others through public transportation. Some nuclear families may live hundreds of miles away from extended families and may prioritize their immediate family over their extended family and community. In America, I have heard many people say “pull yourself up by your bootstraps”. This saying represents the prominent individualistic attitude that pushes people to help themselves in order to succeed.
Personally, I think individualism in the U.S. can be beneficial and harmful. People in the U.S. can sometimes be too apathetic when interacting with others. They may judge individuals as only individuals and ignore important community ties and backgrounds that seriously impact people’s lives. Some people in the U.S. also tend to put their immediate needs over the needs of their local community or country. They may vote for policies that will put money in their pockets without thinking about how those policies could affect future generations or neighboring peoples. On the other hand, some Americans will only look at individuals and not judge someone for the actions or words of people in their community. People may also have a different sense of family, as some individuals choose which people are allowed to be involved in their lives.
Other people may see people who live in America as too individualistic. For example, the way some Americans raise their children may seem very strange. They may find it odd that some parents will put their young child in a different bedroom than their own or that parents will let their young children take public transportation to school. People may find it odd that some Americans put such a high emphasis on creating your own happiness instead of waiting for life to go right. People may disagree with the ideology that everyone can make their own life better and that everyone can make themselves successful. They may think people in the U.S. would be ignoring the obstacles some people must navigate to be considered successful.
This exercise helps me prepare for my time abroad because it reminds me that everyone has different perspectives of cultures. While I may come from an individualistic culture, other people may come from collectivistic backgrounds. I will need to do my best to see how American individualism could affect my perceptions of the world and realize other people will not see the world the same way I do. Even though I may form strong opinions about some of the cultural aspects I will witness abroad, I need to do my best to respect the local culture and keep in mind how my culture affects my values and beliefs while I am abroad.