An aspect of U.S. culture that I have noticed growing up here is an emphasis on individualism and career driven attitudes as life purpose. We are raised and socialized to strive for highly respected careers that pay a high salary and to move out of the family house at the earliest convenience. There is a certain timeline to life when living in America. This often involves college (if you can afford it), working full time, and moving out of your family’s house in your mid twenties. This timeline is often fast pace, along with the American work environment where everything is go go go.
Growing up in America, I have always struggled with this strict timeline and the intense focus on career and profit-driven lifestyle, where happiness seems to derive from what you job you have and how much you can profit in life. The fast pace living that we experience in America can be quite overwhelming for me. I have always been surrounded by others whose main focus is to be successful in highly regarded fields that make high salaries. This creates a pressure to achieve expectations that can be both unattainable, and not enjoyable. I have always valued doing things that I enjoy in life and making a living for myself that doesn’t solely revolve around my work life. I value the relationships I make with others, rather than how much I can earn in a career that I don’t enjoy. This sort of individualistic view of achievement is what drives American values, attitudes, and beliefs. While I value individualism in the sense that my life is my own and my decisions should not be based around others, I strive for strong connections with the people in my life to build my own familial bonds, typically outside of my blood relatives.
An outsider to U.S. culture may few this sort of individualism negatively, as many other cultures have strong familial values. America does not perpetuate a strong inclination to keep family close in life, as there are expectations to move out of the house and earn a living at the soonest moment possible. Many might view this fast pace living to be overwhelming, or even toxic to familial life and our connections with others. There is a strong separation of work and family life with an emphasis on timeliness. Lateness is considered to be very rude in American culture, whereas, in other countries, there is much less pressure to be on time to events or meeting up with others.
This exercise has prepared me for my time abroad, as I can recognize that the fast-paced environment I live in now, will not be my experience abroad. Given that this fast pace brings me more anxiety, rather than comfort, I view this oncoming change positively, in which I can experience a way of life different from the one I have grown up in. I am looking forward to experience work life in Greece, with both my education and volunteer opportunity.