Week Three - Exploring My/Our Heritage

This week in class we got into our groups and shared a little bit about everyones heritage. I thought it was really great that everyone in my group had a pretty good understanding of their heritage and had different stories that represented their cultural background. Leading up to this class I honestly didn't know too much about my background, so I talked with my mom and dad and the filled my in on some of my culture. I was suprised with some of the things the told me. Like on my moms side I am Dutch and on my dads side I am Scottish, and that on both sides we have family crests. I was plesantly surprised with what they told me and am really excited about researching a little bit more for the Elements of my Culture paper. I also enjoyed being able to understand how far my knowledge and comfort goes with being surrounded by different cultures. I thought it was good for me to see comfort levels on a scale and being able to see where I fit helped me realize that I have a long way to go. Just because I know of different cultures out there doesn't mean that I know what I should and would be ready to deal with a family that has a different culture of my own. Which is why I am excited to see how much I grow while going through this course and complete the assignments. Right now my comfort level is being in my own community with the surroundings I am used to and grew up around and I am a little hesitant to step out of my shell. So I have decided to create a personal goal for myslef to experience different areas and push my comfort zones as much as I can before the end of my school year and after.