I grew up on St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands and have been in the continental United States for school for a few years now. So, the culture I was raised in is very different from the one here. This has given me a unique perspective on some of the attitudes and values held by my peers at Rollins. For example, in American families there is a strong emphasis on achieving total independence from your family upon reaching adulthood. This is exemplified by a large portion of the population of young adults attending educational institutions geographically far from their parents, whether that be boarding school, college, or university. Many of these types of residential schools consequently have a diverse student body ranging from many different places. Furthermore, there can be a stigma against individuals who do not participate in this and stay at home with their parents, largely based on the assumption that this is due to a lack of ability. In various other cultures, though, this is approached differently. In the Virgin Islands, there is less pressure in this aspect, and it is more common and acceptable to see young adults staying with their families for longer. In other cultures, the attitude can be entirely the opposite. Mexican culture, for instance, puts a strong emphasis on maintaining the family unit when possible, and encourages young adults to remain with their parents for longer.
I think that encouraging independence is a good thing and can promote problem solving and self-reliance. On the other hand, I also think that staying close to one’s family is a good thing and can provide an individual with necessary support and connection throughout their life. So, both have advantages, but an extreme to either end would not be productive or beneficial to society or individuals in my opinion. I think that the United States’ culture of ushering young adults “out of the nest” so quickly can sometimes seem cold to people from the outside and those who leave can be viewed as abandoning their family by being so far away. Especially someone who comes from a culture which leans more towards keeping families together for longer may view it in a negative light because it is so different from how their own family life is structured and the values surrounding it.
Being aware of the ways in which other cultures diverge from my own and being able to understand each perspective makes me a better global citizen because it allows me to empathize with people who are very different than myself. It enables me to look objectively at my own way of viewing the world and how I think things should be and see how others experience it differently. As I study abroad, I will be immersed in a culture different than my own and I will be surrounded by people who may not think about things the same way I do. So, I need to be able to step outside of my own preconceptions to fully understand and connect with my host country which is my goal during this semester abroad in Australia.