Helping everyone around you get better, improve, and grow is a big part of the U.S. culture. As an international student-athlete from Mexico, I have observed that the U.S. cultivates a competitive environment; nevertheless, everyone wants you to succeed so the community can be better as well. Persistence is extremely valued and esteemed alongside the act of trying. Living in a culture where everyone works to improve and be better can be very motivating because it can push you out of your comfort zone and help you to try new things. Different environments such as sports teams, workspaces, classrooms, and friends and family, value the fact that you try, sometimes even more than the outcome. Americans applaud the effort which helps everyone learn from failure and makes it easier to see it as another step toward reaching goals.
By being part of the swimming team at Rollins, I have been able to experience this empowerment culture dynamic. Swimming is an individual sport but definitively in the U.S. can be seen as a team sport. Everyone cheers when you are behind the blocks which really motivates and helps enhance performance and consequently, the entire team improves with a healthy competition environment. Additionally, the support of the community has pushed me to get out of my comfort zone and do things like going on a semester abroad.
I think that this empowering atmosphere is very noticeable from outside the U.S. Just by looking at the Olympic Games it can be seen that all the American athletes are highly competitive but also, they seem united and working as a team to be the best in all the disciplines. This cultural aspect is very admired in different parts of the world. It can be seen as the famous “American Dream,” which is “the ideal by which equality of opportunity is available to any American, allowing the highest aspirations and goals to be achieved” (Oxford Languages). This iconic “American Dream” can be seen from an external perspective, but it solidifies when lived and experienced.
Definitively, living in the U.S. for the past two years has helped me grow as a person and try new things. Also, I have learned to encourage everyone around me to try, get better, and cheer for them. I am very excited to put what I have learned into practice in a totally different country that I don’t know. I want to be able to be an inspiring person to the people at my internship, so they are motivated and innovative. I want to use these skills to be a good friend, a good student, and to keep learning and growing with this collective empowerment value.