Growing up, I did not realize the importance of surrounding myself with economically and culturally diverse people. Now, I have come to realize that many of my friendships with individuals claiming different identities than my own are the strongest relationships that I have. As an engineering major, it struck many people as odd that I would opt to take a social work class for fun; however, I enrolled in a Populations at Risk social work class this spring that has taught me to be aware of the diversity and multiculturalism around me. Under the teaching of my professor, I'm challenged to examine the impact that communicating with people of different backgrounds has made on my interpretation of diversity.
When my professor first posed this notion, I immediately thought of the time when I was first establishing my friend group in college. Many of my friends are also from urban or suburban areas of the United States including Chicago, New Orleans, and St. Louis. Being from just outside of Nashville, I noticed myself gravitating towards people that I could relate to about the adjustment moving from a very populated area to Starkville, Mississippi. But after talking briefly with my new friends, I understood that just because we came from cities did not mean we were the same.
The first two girls that I became friends with took me to a Catholic mass; while I do not identify with Catholicism, the experience was eye opening and allowed me to see first hand why this religious custom was important to them. Afterwards, they were kind enough to answer my questions about why they enjoy Mass, and they responded that Mass is less about custom to them and more about the feeling of peace that they carry with them after attending Mass. Before asking them about this tradition, I had simply assumed it was something they did as tradition and did not think about the underlying meaning of it.
Also towards the beginning of the school year, my friends and I sat around talking about the enneagram, Myers-Briggs personality test, and the Sleeping at Last album about the enneagram. I distinctly remember that we all varied in our personalities. Acknowledging that this group was composed of mainly extroverts and ambiverts, I worried that being an introvert would detrimentally affect my relationships with the girls I had just met; rather, I have noticed that these girls pull me out of my shell and help me become the best version of myself. Because of their influence, I can better understand how social interaction acts as a fuel for them, and they have reassured me that they better understand how social interaction wears me down.
Additionally, we discussed our motivating factors in day to day life. It was eye-opening to hear about what motivates my friends. I am motivated by a strong sense of what is "wrong" and what is "right." It can become hard for me to view the world as anything other than black and white, but my friends remind me that not everything is that simple. The world is more complex than I would care to admit. The most noticeable difference was that one of my friends is highly motivated to experience everything that she can in her lifetime. Her basic fear is missing out, whereas my basic fear is failure. Understanding these motivational factors facilitates greater appreciation for the differences amongst myself and my friends.
Furthermore, all of my friends and I have differing familial backgrounds. My parents divorced when I was very young, and I have a very large, very blended family. I am the oldest of six, and both of my parents have new relationships. One of my sisters shares both biological parents with me, one of my younger brothers is adopted, and the remaining brother and two sisters share one biological parent. According to the US Census Bureau, more than 16% of families in the United States are typed as blended households, and this trend is increasing. That being said, the diversity within a family itself opens up more space for the acknowledgment of differences. My definition of "family" has drastically changed since I was younger because of my family and our differing perspectives on how to respond to certain situations. Hearing from my friends about having very few brothers and sisters and parents who've been married since they were born has taught me that the way we respond to the situation we are put in says more about ourselves than the situation itself. I love to discover how different families face challenges, create and maintain traditions, and make plans moving forward.
Moreover, many of my friends are from different religious and ethnic backgrounds. I recently interviewed a close friend about her experiences as a member of a minority religion, Judaism, in a predominantly Christian region. Looking at the religious demographics of Tennessee, only 1% of the adult population identifies as Jewish ("Adults in Tennessee", 2015). By discussing her religious community and some of the challenges she has faced, such as anti-semitism and misinformation regarding modern Judaism, I came to understand that her religion and her family are support systems similarly to my own. There is a lot to be learned from discussion of someone's past and the values he or she holds important. One of my closest friends often talks about how her Croatian background affects different aspects of her life. She shares stories about her mother and grandmother in Croatia, and she tells me the meaning behind different Croatian words, overcoming cultural barriers created by different languages.
Finally, I learn a lot from my own family and the people that my parents associate with. My mom's friends have been very important figures shaping my desire to learn more about other cultures and minority groups. For example, I see my mom's friend, Sociology Professor Dr. Warner at Columbia State Community College, taking her students on trips to India to experience cultural diversity first-hand and to learn about some of the injustices that exist elsewhere in the world. I find that talking to her about her work facilitates further acceptance and awareness of the differences amongst individuals and the groups they identify with.
Looking at diversity from a broader perspective, such as the professional community, poses further acknowledgement of how differences facilitate progress and success. For example, within a business, diversity opens up space for more creativity and the share of ideas amongst colleagues (Green, et al., 2019). By pulling ideas from a larger group of individuals with various ethnic, religious, racial, and cultural backgrounds, new suggestions and ideas are cultivated about problems and ways to solve them. Additionally, the inclusion of all groups of people within the workplace aids in creating a comfortable and safe space for all employees.
Overall, my personal experiences continue to disprove the notion that I need to pass judgment on someone based on their background. Being aware of how diversity influences my day-to-day life has also become a major factor in my future career. Upon graduating, I will need to know effective ways to communicate with other people in the fields of engineering and medicine. Much of the improvement in engineering design and research relies heavily upon being open to collaborative work and discussion with people of various backgrounds. While this article may not do enough justice in explaining the importance of diversity and my personal encounters are limited, taking the time to reflect upon my personal experiences with diversity has begun to highlight the influence that it has on my daily interactions. I am a firm believer that, "only through a discussion of difference, we can progress towards change" (Sloan, Joyner, Stakeman, & Schmitz, 2018). We must acknowledge our differences to truly value one another.
References
Adults in Tennessee - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics.
(2015, May 11). Retrieved from https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/tennessee/
Green, K., López, M., Wysocki, A., Kepner, K., Farnsworth, D., & Clark, J. L. (2019). Diversity in the
Workplace: Benefits, Challenges, and the Required Managerial Tools. UF IFAS Extension. Retrieved from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu
Sloan, L. M., Joyner, M. C., Stakeman, C. J., & Schmitz, C. L. (2018). Critical
Multiculturalism and Intersectionality in a Complex World. New York, NY: OXFORD University Press.
