One cultural aspect of the United States is the relentless strive for success. The way that our country is designed supports individuals to create any kind of business and supports education in order to pursue your passion. Of course, money is an obvious factor for hard work, but also there is an intersection between working for money and working for pleasure. Sometimes Americans can get lost in both respects, which can create certain behaviors that may seem outlandish to people of other cultures. In an economic respect, America has influenced almost the entire world, and I believe that as Americans, we forget this. So many other cultures have become conditioned to constantly seeing our culture in their countries, which is something that many of us would not be used to here in the United States. This can be attributed to our need for success and economic growth, which as usual, is only good in moderation.
In my opinion, this aspect of American culture is both beneficial as well as harmful. It is beneficial because it allows many of us to take opportunities to overcome adversity and empower ourselves. This is important because this is what gives the United States part of its reputation. People come to America for second chances, as an escape, or to begin a new life. On the other hand, this aspect of our culture has been abused to the point where we have separated the population so that this system can benefit those who are already succeeding while also putting down those who are barely scraping by. This separation has caused so much political turmoil in our country, but it has also provoked many activist organizations to speak up and create change.
In different cultures, there are different core values. In America, individualism could be considered a core value while in other countries it may be family before individualism. Our values may seem unordinary and confusing, just as other cultures may seem to us here in the United States. In many cultures, success can mean something different, or align with a completely different value such as religion. This makes me think of the importance of time in America compared to other countries. Other countries may not have strict timing of everyday schedules, which is something that is unavoidable in our country. This could be very concerning to a student who is going abroad because they are so used to a strict daily schedule, while their peers may be more relaxed, leading to stress.
I am so excited to go abroad because I cannot wait to experience different cultural values and live a lifestyle that is not normal to me. I think there are so many benefits of stepping out of one’s comfort zone because it allows us to have common experiences that we are able to relate upon. These connection can be beneficial in your everyday life as well as social settings when abroad, so the most important thing to remember to to keep your mind open.