There are many encounters that come to mind when describing interactions I have had with someone or something different from myself.
I attend an international school, where I am constantly surrounded by classmates from different countries, cultures, ideologies, and religions.
I remember touring my high school when my parents were considering moving to Houston.
As I stepped into the gym locker room, I saw the big frizzy hair and an endearing smile of a teenage girl approaching me. When she hugged me tightly, I was unsettled by the sudden physical contact from a stranger because, in Mexican culture, our custom is to greet by placing our cheeks to each other and making a quick, subtle air kiss sound.
I could not predict that a couple of months later, the strange hugging girl from my school visit would become my best friend.
She has been my confidant ever since.
In Mexico, the predominant religion is Roman Catholicism. My best friend was born and raised in Egypt, where the predominant religion is Islam. I had little-to-no exposure to Islam because there are only approximately 100,000 Muslims out of 120 million people in Mexico City.
As our friendship developed, I began to notice several differences.
One of the most notable is our differing levels of individuality and freedom of expression. Other differences include cultural values which determine a woman’s place in society, parenting styles and parents’ expectations of their children. Unexpected minor differences include clothing preferences such as skin exposure and comfort level with modern customs, such as curfew.
Humanitarianism is what makes us human: it is compassion, care, love for self and for one another. Humanity is being able to feel emotions, anger, sadness, happiness. It is being able to reason and have critical thinking, which allows us to differentiate right from wrong.
What makes life worth living is our daily experiences and the contributions to the happiness of others.
A person cannot be truly happy unless she/he shares their richnesses with the outside world. What would have happened if Einstein hadn't shared his knowledge about the theory of relativity, or what would the arts be if Dali did not share his new ideology of surrealism? Without sharing our life experiences with others, we decrease our contributions to a humanitarian society.
My best friend tends to be passive and internalizes her opinion when something bothers her. I, on the other hand, am always eager to share what I think. She is a selfless person, where I believe in individualism and maintaining oneself as the highest priority in order to succeed.
Even though we have different viewpoints, we both agree on fundamental values that lend to humanitarianism: loyalty, hard work, honesty and respect for self and others. Being friends with her has changed my thought process.
We add to each other’s lives by exploring our values, which encourages self-growth.
She has taught me to see the bigger picture and to let go of things that are not as important. Likewise, she has benefitted from my knowledge also. I have taught her self-expression, acceptance, passion and to value her voice.
Because of our friendship, I have changed my misconceptions about Islam and incorporated some of her family principals into my own. My relationship with her is one of an example of how interacting with someone or something different, helps highlight my sense of self while allowing the opportunity to evolve my relationship to the larger society.
So what happens when a Catholic becomes best friends with a Muslim? Life simply becomes better.
