Multicultural- Personal Narrative
Introduction
Multicultural alludes to the summation of various aspects, which in most cases account for the geographic location influences of individuals. The most aspects that are summed in multiculturalism include religion, traditions, religion, and social justice. Nonetheless, it involves other more refined aspects other than those four. In this paper, I will discuss my narrative about the multicultural experience. In my definition, the most appropriate definition of multiculturalism includes the aspects of the different cultural realms. Hence, this aspect in my perception comprises of my family tradition, healing, acculturation, food preparation, and religious beliefs. In societies, multiculturalism is significant, especially to individuals who, in most cases love to adventure the cultures of the different diversities, such as myself.
Multicultural acts as the umbrella of the norms and social behaviors found in human life, knowledge, customs, habits, and beliefs. The culture is acquired through a learning process of socialization and culturalization. In human life, the sense of culture is attributed to an individual in which it has been a degree by which the person cultivates a specific level of sophistication in the manners, arts, and education. However, multiculturalism is regarded as a central concept that encompasses the range of things that are transmitted in humans through social learning.
Multicultural contributes to the formation of a healthy world in several ways. Cultural engagement and creativity, improve both physical and mental health (Arnold, 2018). Besides that, it adds intrinsic value, which provides important social benefits. With enhancing health, learning, opportunities, and increased tolerance, multiculturalism improves the quality of life experiences of both the community and an individual.
Culture enables one to develop life experience, the knowledge that involves a broad engagement to leverage, and identifies the beliefs in cultural resources and integrates them in all life facets and decision-making processes. The knowledge and experiences enable one to make an analysis of worldview and create a conclusion to discover more place-based tactics to the development and prosperity of the cultural vitality.
My life and how cultural background shaped my values, beliefs, and worldview.
I am an African- American citizen, born in America where I single household with my mother. My religion is Christianity. I was born in New York, but my mother moved to Missouri before I joined High School. My mother comes from an Irish family that strongly adheres to religion as the sole culture. I do not have a father. My mother before moving to the States she was adopted by an English family who moved her to the States. My mother is a strong Christian. She heads every mass each week.
I had my first communion when I was 8years old, and since I was a child I have been going to church. My mother has been encouraging me since I was a kid to follow our religious beliefs because she thought that will shape my life. I am always close to my mother, whom we have much in common when it comes to our religion. My circle of friends is fairly varied when it comes to religion, ethnicity, race, and cultural background, but it mostly consists of people involved in Christianity activities.
Being a Christian has influenced my life by shaping the way I think and address things. The religion which is my culture affects my habits. These values and beliefs have a great influence entirely on my life. Many people adhere to their various religions because of their souls, but it turns out to shape them in faith-based activities which are good for the mind and body. Religion as a culture is a social system which constitutes of designated practices and behaviors, worldviews, morals, ethics, and sanctified prophesies, which relates to human spirituality contexts. The culture differs from one religion to the other, but some common elements are ranging from faith, divine, indigenous healing, and sacred things that provide the power and the rest of life.
The practices of religion include veneration, sermons, commemoration, rituals, festivals, trances, and sacrifice (Hordern, 2016). Religious beliefs and values through traditions and faith have been used to narrate stories that are believed to be true. The religion has made me feel like I have less control over my life, it has given me an extra ability and reminder to resist the temptation of junk food. Thinking of God always has helped me to avoid sinner junk food temptation. My life is always happy and smiling. Happiness comes from religious beliefs, values, and denomination. The social joy of participating in Christian activities has helped in creating the interconnect which has enabled me to build up closer ties, social networks, and life satisfaction in my background.
The religion raised my self- esteem. My mothers’ gloomy and bright outlook on my life played a major role in my comprehension of the power of thinking positively. Living in Christian life, religion has made me feel better about myself by making me feel the part of my large culture. Moreover, religion has enabled me to have better psychological adjustment and self-esteem adjustments that many non-believers. I feel like my happiness was boosted and I feel secure this culture.
The religion created soothes anxiety because as a Christian background child, the religion helped me to soothe the anxiety that is related to making mistakes. The religion helps me to deal with the setbacks gracefully whenever I fall back on my faith. Besides that, the culture protects me against depressive symptoms. In a backdrop of religion, the cultural belief helps me to recover the proceeds better.
Nevertheless, culture is also linked to my health. Because of religion, I grew up having more social support from my mother, which developed my better-coping skills and enhanced a more positive self-image in the community.
Journey with various diversity
In my life, I have encountered various persons with different race, gender, class, age, sexual orientation, ability, ethnicity, and religion. In the United States ethnic, socioeconomic and all the various inequalities are rampant. I do not advocate for discrimination of people because of their differences. When I was young my mother was suspected because of her race, she was suspected of suspicious things she did not commit. Even in employment, she only fetched the job of household, because she was told he cannot manage some jobs. Because of this experience, I have treated all the people I have come in contact with fairly and equally without discriminating them on either age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, class, ability, and race. My culture has taught me that individuals are equal despite their varying cultural beliefs.
The way my life experience has influenced me and my world view
The culture has provided the lens through which I view and interpret the world and help in generating my specific life experiences. Through my cultural experiences, I have learned that different cultures vary, and the differences in the way cultural people, process and communicate information sometimes leads to challenges and conflicts within our built environments. I have seen culture as the lifeblood of a vibrant world, which is expressed in the way people tell stories, entertain themselves, remember the past, celebrate, and adore their cultural beliefs. My creative expression has helped to define what the world is, and this had enabled me to see the world through the eyes of my culture.
Participating in my culture has developed my deep personal world view perspective. The culture is a source of delight and wonder that has provided me with intellectual and emotional life moving experience, which is both unsettling and pleasurable that encourages global celebration and contemplation. Culture is a way by which world people create, forge their identity, enhance, and preserve their background sense of existence. Thus, the culture in my own experience in the world is learning, an opportunity for leisure, and a way through which the world shares their experiences.
Moreover, my life experience in the culture has enhanced my thinking capability, improved my resilience, built my self-esteem all of which have enhanced my education about the world. The cultural heritage has broadened the opportunities on how I see the world education, including a better understanding of peoples history and how to treat them. The benefits of multicultural spill over the world as a whole (Smith & Trimble, 2016). The culture has ensured I grow up in a build-up social capital that holds the world together. The culture brings the world together by connecting people in cultural activities such as religion, which creates cohesion and social solidarity and fosters social inclusions. Furthermore, it has opened up my life in seeing how culture helps the world to develop compelling world narratives that teach moral behaviors to the world people.
How the life experience has shaped my philosophy on counseling
The life experience has shaped my philosophy on counseling, and when considering how it looks like, the cultural background acts as an eye-opening for the person I am and how much I see things. The self-analysis is something new to me since I was not sure how I do things daily. In this experience, I find my religion, my mother, and my significant friends being helpful. Constantly living in a diverse cultural population and practicing Christianity with both my past and present life influences my philosophy on counseling.
By following the teachings from my cultural belief, they made me understand the thoughts of what is happening in the present and how I can alter the experiences and resolve some of the issues occurring in the society. The cultural value structure and its dynamic teachings have taught me that I should consider them when working in counseling to deliver the best counseling experience.
How life experiences influenced my counseling approach
I have learned from the experience that religious structure and dynamics are the things I should examine when working in counseling philosophy to deliver the most effective counseling approach. I feel like my past perception of the cultural influences the way I act in the present. Though, it is supposed to be taken into action that either the client in counseling or I should be able to change the past. My past experiences of religious practices play a significant role in who I am but do not determine who am as a whole. I believe multicultural as a subjective reality, in which people vary with each other, similar to how they operate their beliefs.
I can create and interpret my own experience, which means my sense of reality is within me. Therefore, it is my goal as the counselor to use my experience effectively to understand the people I will be counseling with reality and cater to them since I am not all molded similarly in the thought processes I possess. I can interpret, create things and influence, according to Christian values, and thus for me to understand people, I must first understand the system which they are made of. Christian culture is systematic and holistic.
Finally, in any counseling, in the beginning, I would try as much as I can to collect relevant information about the attitudes of the people am dealing with, and an understanding of the lives these people live through their perspective. With this approach in my Christianity, culture is described as a phenomenological, that comprises of the feelings, values thought, and individual perception.
Conclusion
Multiculturalism is a powerful tool that has enabled me to gain a better understanding of my culture and the culture of the world. Through, this I have gained a deeper relationship, knowledge, and strength of the norms and values am made of. The culture has fostered my positive esteem that has nurtured my empathy, acceptance, and respect for how I value my experiences and view the world.
References
Arnold, M. (2018). Culture & anarchy. e-artnow.
Hordern, J. (2016). Religion and culture. Medicine, 44(10), 589-592.
Smith, T. B., & Trimble, J. E. (2016). Multicultural education/training and experience: A meta-analysis of surveys and outcome studies.