I’m happy with who I am today, just as everyone should be. But if I could change anything about myself, I’d want to have more motivation to do things. In the mornings before school I can barely get out of bed because I’m so tired and don’t want to go to school. I’m exceedingly intelligent but I don’t have any drive. I procrastinate on most of my work, and sometimes I just don’t want to do the work. Right now I’m rank 14 in my class but I could’ve been higher if I had any drive my freshman year. I don’t think about how my decisions now will impact me later and when I do, I don’t really care. I also don’t have much motivation to do things in sports activities. Last year I played volleyball and I never had that much playing time. Never being able…
Diversity is defined in the dictionary as "the condition of being different." A crucial mistake many people make is to equate diversity with "race" and "culture". They think diversity is about "what Hispanics are like" or "what Europeans are like". “This approach is inherently flawed because it reinforces stereotypes and promotes an "us versus them" mentality. Diversity extends far beyond race and culture to include a number of dimensions of differences”. Loden and Rosener (1991). Valuing diversity recognizes differences between people and acknowledges that these differences are a valued asset. It also respects individuality while promoting respect for others.…
“Wow! I did not know there were black Americans”. During the month I was in China, I heard this or a variant of it jokily said to me numerous times. I never took offense to it since I understood most of the media from America that came to China featured individuals who did not look like me. Furthermore, for those Americans who had come to China, they were mostly white and had come for business. While in China, I was able to share my experience as an African-American; I always found enjoyment sharing my experiences and it seemed to me those around me found enjoyment learning about a different side of America. With me sharing my experiences, they were being able to understand the diverse nature of the United States.…
As I entered homeroom, I noticed I was the only latina present and that there was only one other person of color. At first this did not bug me, but as the week went by, I realized that we were the only two non-white students in the whole middle school. This made me feel very out of place, because I had never been the only Latina at a school, so I did anything I could to fit in. I was willing to let people make me their own personal dictionary, for inappropriate language, or to translate their readings. As a person of color, I was always taught to put others before me or else I would be seen as rude and uneducated, so I complied. Throughout my life, I have witnessed that many upper class citizens take their privilege for granted; they do not…
As I stood in the swift breeziness of the January air on the foundation of Iowa’s capital building, I took a good look around at all the people surrounding me. To my left was a quirky fearless woman with a sign saying, “Strong Women Scare Weak Men”. To my right a courageous African American woman was standing topless chanting, “My body my rights”. I was in awe at how incredible and how daring all of these women and men were. I mean an entire group of women were standing topless so confident and looked absolutely fearless. As I think about it now there is absolutely no reason why every women/men should not feel this exact same way. Our society has pointed us to a certain “figure” that we should all look like, causing this fear of not looking…
I don’t know how to begin to define myself in order for you to understand who I truly am. I believe there is more to a person than stories that mould us into who we are today; like when one asks, “Tell me your story," I don’t think about that time when my family broke into two or that time I was diagnosed with my mental illnesses. I think of coffee, because coffee is bitter and bitter people drink coffee, sad people; people with heavy hearts and heavy footsteps, with tangled thoughts, people with anxiety and words left unspoken, people like me. Lonely people drink coffee. I think of the world map I have in my room with thumbtacks marking every country I want to visit. I think of foreign languages, and how beautiful it sounds when words form…
I am Ethiopian. Being Ethiopian has taught me to love the people around me, respect everything I have and also become the level header person I am today. My culture has built the backbone of our family and has kept us together through all odds. My mother and father keep the culture alive by speaking the official language of Amharic in the house, cooking traditional food and also practicing our Orthodox religion. Being Ethiopian is a huge part of who I am, but at one point in my life it seemed like that was the one thing I wanted no one to know about.…
Being black comes with its own challenges speak Black and Hispanic is a new challenge altogether. my skin was never dark enough to fit in with the black kids my skin was never light enough to be considered for the Puerto Rican kids I never quite fit in. I couldn't give people what they expect of me I could not step dance in a proper way, my Spanish didn’t always roll off the tongue easily. expectations could be different depending on who I was with, but one expectation always remained the same. it was expected that I would feel and everything I wouldn't do. failure was always my best shot. Except I don't always meet expectations I always exceed them, I do not and have not failed. throughout elementary school middle school and even at the high school level my grades remain…
Perhaps one of the most profound things about people, especially the millennial generation, is the incredible acceptance and adaptations found in the face of situation in which we encounter people who are different from ourselves.The ability to mesh with the people around me, and to be a part of a community comes easily to me. I have grown up in a one-of-a kind little town in the mountains of Colorado, and have always been surrounded by people who are both leaps and bounds away from me in our differences, and people I found plenty of things in common with. It is an expanded version of this diversity that I crave in my upcoming college experience. To be able to meet and interact with students from all different walks of life is a major priority as I move into the next chapter of my life.…
The opportunity to be a fellow with Latham & Watkins and to attend the Diversity Leadership Academy, is amazing and I believe that I am excellent candidate. I have experience working with clients, a commitment to diversity in the legal profession, and a diverse background. As a native of Miami, FL I grew up in a diverse urban city. Furthermore, I am a Black and Puerto Rican woman with a distinctive perspective on cross-cultural relations and socioeconomic challenges. Unfortunately, I am an underrepresented minority in the legal profession. My ambition has galvanized me to become the first lawyer in my family. Within the fellowship, I will bring forth my diversity of thought, expression, and experience in addition to my ethnicity.…
Culture is an important and vital component that defines who and what we are as a person. We interface with cultural difference on a daily basis. So what exactly is culture? Good Question! I will attempt to identify my own cultural and explain what cultural means to me. So, lets start by defining the term culture. “Culture is a particular society that has its own beliefs, ways of life, art, etc.”. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2015) My cultural identity consists of several parts. I am most foremost a female that has a variety of racial genetic makeup of African-American, Native American, and European descent. I was raised in a Christian religious household and in a primarily single parent home. I have a sister and a half brother on my father’s…
“I lived in Japan for eight years” – something that, no matter how many times I say it, still catches people off-guard, especially given that I wasn’t born in Japan and neither of my parents are Japanese.…
Identity is who a person is. It determines how you act and how people think of you. For example, a person whose identity is bad is often bound for trouble and for others to look down on them, whereas a person with a good identity is often bound for success and treated well by others. A person’s identity can be affected by many things: where he/she was born, the person’s parents, friends and other things. Through my life experiences I have become creative, spirited, and inquisitive.…
What a difference a bridge can make! I grew up in a community that one would not call diverse. Currently, my hometown is 97% white. Driving across a 2.4-mile bridge over the Illinois River, the demographics change to 62% white, 26% black, and 4.6 Asian. Among my classmates, there were few ethnicities other than Caucasian. I did realize this difference as a child and I was extremely interested in other cultures, especially when we would go on vacation. Hearing other languages and seeing new traditions was very exciting to me. I would immediately befriend the foreign exchange students at my high school and would submerge myself in their culture as much as possible.…
Throughout my life I have encountered many circumstances that have shaped me into the person I am today. I was born in Moroleon, Guanajuato, Mexico. I attended school in Mexico all the way to second grade. In the summer of 2006 I moved to Cumming, Georgia. It was the hardest thing to do because I left everything that I care the most about. We lived in a trailer which was not the nicest place and in the middle of the forest. I started school at the beginning of August. I had always loved school so I was so excited for the first day. I knew it was going to be hard because I would have to conquer so many obstacles on the way. At this time the only English I knew was probably counting from one to ten and some of the colors. My Father knew some…