Growing up, I could care less about culture. Now, being a woman in her early 20s, I am beginning to learn the meaning and beauty of the culture I was raised in. By culture, I mean the way I was brought up. The traditions my family shared, the stories we told, and the history behind all of the magic. It truly is beautiful, and I am learning now that no one should feel ashamed for the beauty that is within every culture.
When I was little, I was told I was a “Mutt.” I was not purely Italian or German. My ancestors came from all over the world, and I have been blessed with a little of each of them in my blood. Being brought up Italian, German, Hungarian, Spanish, and Pennsylvania Dutch left me quite confused sometimes. But now, I am learning how to manage and keep all of the culture that has influenced my life, close to my heart.
Feeling this way, it is wrong to feel the need to bash others on their cultures. Just because they dance a certain way or wear clothes you find to be too flashy or abnormal, doesn’t mean you have the right to stop someone from celebrating their culture. Why should someone dressed in a traditional Indian Kurti be looked at any different from a young girl wearing a traditional Irish dress for dancing? They are both worn to take pride in their culture as well as to celebrate who they are both inside and out. What is the problem with this?
How can we praise people like Shakira and Malala Yousafzai for being rich in culture, yet shame others who are just like them, just because they aren’t famous or well-known? It takes a bigot to do this, and it is only harming our society and preventing us from blossoming into a rich and diverse one.
So many people in our world today are so focused on the bad things within cultures and seek to shame individuals based on the way they talk, their attire, and the way they practice their beliefs. Our world is filled with so much hate that so many of us are blinded from gorgeous things that diversity has to offer. It is filled with colorful food, music that will give you chills, and traditions that will make you smile. Why would anyone want to put an end to something that makes people so happy?
How would you feel if someone forbade you from wearing your favorite shirt, just because they didn’t like it? Or told you to stop listening to your favorite bad because they didn’t speak the “normal” language? It would feel pretty damn awful. We need to put an end to culture-shaming and learn how to embrace diversity and traditions in their own special ways. This would be easier if we would become educated about the world itself. Many of us are oblivious to culture, because we don’t understand it. We don’t know where certain people come from or why they celebrate the way they do. All it takes is a little knowledge to be able to open your mind to this simple thing that allows people to always be themselves.
I am so glad that I can look at my culture and be proud. I can watch my elders dance to our Hungarian folk music and polkas and smile. I am no longer embarrassed by the way we hug and kiss everyone as a sign of love and respect. I am proud to be a mutt. I am proud of my culture and my heritage.
