Cultural Identity means something different to each person in life. To each, language, race, history, geographical location means something different to each person. Everyone has their own eye through which life is perceived, and culture in large part is what shapes the view in front of them. To some life is peaceful and comfortable, while to others life is more about day-to-day survival. Each person has free agency or the option of choice, but due to culture how much choice does a person really have versus predetermined fate due to the cultural circumstances they are born into? To the Asian born in North Korea, his circumstances are directly affected by his geographical location. He may have chosen to be an astronaut, but due to the communist dictator that rules his country, he is limited. The culture you are born into more often than not is a defining part of who you are and what you will become.
My name is Trevor Cox and I am a 25-year-old white male who was raised in Layton, Utah. I would consider myself an A-typical male from Utah. I was raised with 3 other siblings, 2 bothers and a sister. I was raised in an upper-middles class home. I graduated High school in 2004 and then served and LDS mission for 2 years in the Baltic States Mission.
I was raised inside an upper-middle class home. My Dad was an entrepreneur who has been successful in business as long as I can remember. He owns an auto glass company that has been in business for nearly 20 ears, while it may not look like a huge corporation, my Dad has learned how to manage his affairs in a way to pull every ounce of profit out of the industry he is involved in. Both of my parents were raised in large families, both their Dads were schoolteachers that didn't make lots of money. This motivated my parents to provide a better life (financially) for my siblings and I. I was given every opportunity a kid could want. I raced motocross when I was 5 years old, eventually taking state when I was 7. I took karate, played soccer, skied +50 times per year, and went on countless trips to Disneyland and Lake Powell. I was by all means blessed. My parents were also advocates of hard work. I was to do inside chores every Friday, before I could go out for the night. I also helped my Dad every Saturday with our massive yard, this taught me from a young age the value of hard work. I was raised with many amenities, but was also forced to not only take care of them, but to earn the privilege to use them through work.
I come from an LDS home as I had mentioned before. This cultural identity shaped me more than I feel any other identity could. My family is considered active followers of the LDS church. Every wall in my parents home has at least one religious picture on it. I was required to attend church every Sunday and mutual on Wednesdays, this taught from a young age the values and beliefs that were associated with the LDS church. My family also had "family night" every Monday and scripture study before school. These too helped me learn more and more about the LDS church and the doctrine behind its beliefs. I turned in my mission approval papers when I was 18, and entered the Missionary Training Center when I was still 18. I was called to speak Lithuanian in the Baltic States mission. I studied Lithuanian and the doctrines of the church inside the MTC for over two months before I arrived in Lithuania.
Once inside Lithuania my cultural blinders were in essence removed. For the first time in my life I was immersed in a culture that was completely foreign to me. I for once was seen as the outsider or the minority. Not only was I a missionary of the LDS church inside a predominately Catholic nation; I was also a white American. This was also very different; I had never seen gypsies or interacted with Eastern Europeans before. I have never been a quiet or shy person, but for a second I was forced to be aware of my own cultural identity. I was no longer in Davis County Utah where every person around me was a white Mormon; I was among people of different religions, race, and people who spoke a completely different language. I learned quickly that language is a large part of culture; it not only helps you communicate but also tells you the "why's" to a culture. You simply cannot understand the boldness of a Russian if you can't speak any Russian. These languages are the key to understanding the cultural identity of the people. Once I was able to communicate, I was able to see inside their cultural peradime. I fee this was a large reason I had success as a missionary, my ability with the language made me empathetic toward Lithuanians.
As I had mentioned before, I consider myself a white male that was raised in an upper-class home and since I have grown up in this culture, I’d like to discuss member of other cultures. I had the opportunity to work in a sales position last summer in Georgia. It was a definite eye opener for me, being that I was raised in Utah where the population is .01% black. At first I was nervous to walk down a street where all I saw were black people outside. All I had to refer to were the stereotypes I had seen on TV and the news, gangs, drugs, and ghetto. However, as I made it though my first few streets I completely forgot that I was white and they were black. In fact I would see a white guy and think, whoa there’s a white guy! I would literally forget that I was even white, I felt so at home among these black families that I felt almost apart of them. In fact most of the white people were rude and unfriendly. The black women especially would invite me in, offer me a glass of water and hear what I had to say. I can honestly say I feel in love with all black women. They were kind, hospitable and they even called me nice names like sugar and sweetie, my own mom didn’t even call me those names. I did notice that most of the black women were single and in the areas I was working in they were mostly poor. I actually had an app on my phone that was given to my for my job that could show me the home’s value, what their mortgage payment was, and even how much schooling they had completed. Scary, I know. Often times they were in debt and upside down on their homes, and had only dropped out of high school or had their GED. Now, not all the black women I spoke to were in this situation, in fact many were successful in their jobs and had families. These women were however just as kind and when I spoke to them, although I was clearly selling something they would treat me with respect. I have literally been in some of the most ghetto parts of Georgia and have spoken with hundreds of black women, and was not once yelled at or asked to leave.
I learned that unfortunately as nice as these women are, they were far behind in education. I feel that likely the economic circumstances they were born into were a huge debilitating factor. Likely the social norms they were born into, forced them to see a different reality to the positives of an education. I would like to see more black women getting their GED’s and continuing their higher education. These women do a remarkable job raising a family with the means they are given. I do not believe that special treatment needs to be given, such as extra money, etc, simply an increased awareness on the benefits of higher education.
My information on these women obviously originally came form the media and the opinions of those who likely didn’t have much interaction. However, my more educated opinions came after I spent nearly four months everyday speaking and conversing with them. I was able to learn first hand the trails, cultural values, and belief systems that these women lived by. This gave me a clearer understanding as to how these women saw the world around them. I am a Republican, however when I spoke with these women I became an Obama fan. Now I don’t really agree with his policies and likely wouldn’t vote for him. However, to see the countless pictures they had of him hanging on their walls made me feel proud that the U.S. had elected its first black president. They would tell me how he was an inspiration to every black boy and girl that they can now truly become anything they wanted. That made me happy and that made me feel a connection to another culture that I otherwise wouldn’t have known.
This paper ahs reminded me of how much I loved getting to know another culture. It was refreshing to see the world through someone else other than another Mormon in Utah. Often times we get caught in our own culture and why it may or my not be the best. Diversity is a real part of life, the sooner we can recognize that different view points are a positive, the sooner we will come to much needed compromises. Chapter 5 really emphasized self perception, this helped me see that although I may see myself one way, my non-verbal’s (race,gender,etc) may portray myself another way. I would like to continue to learn about perception and how other races tend to perceive themselves.
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