A few years ago, I was asked to give a talk at a small, conservative college in California about what it meant to be a true, authentic, and caring American.
The audience was mostly white men, but I also had black students and people of color.
In the days after, I realized that a lot of my peers didn’t feel like they fit into that demographic.
It was something that I wanted to address.
In a sense, I had been working in the field for years, but when I told my story, I felt I had a new lens.
A lot of these people felt like they were just a footnote in history, that they weren’t as valuable as some of my contemporaries.
I realized I needed to help them understand the difference between being authentic and being culturally humble.
So in a sense I became a cultural historian, an anthropologist who was trained to look at cultures and how they relate to their time and place.
It wasn’t about me becoming a professor.
It’s more about helping people understand their own culture and their own history and how their history relates to their culture.
For me, it’s been really helpful to hear people who have come from different backgrounds explain their own histories and how that history relates in their lives.
It has been really valuable to hear their stories and how it relates to how they view their own identity.
When I talk to people, I’m also asking them: What is the culture?
What are the roots of that culture?
How do we fit into the broader cultural landscape of our society?
What is this society and how do we get to know it?
What’s the way of life?
What does culture mean to you?
I get a lot from people who aren’t like me.
I’m lucky to have found a few who are.
One of the things I’ve learned from doing my work is that there is a spectrum of cultures, and it’s really important to know who you’re dealing with.
For instance, I came from an American Indian background.
I grew up in the same small town in the Dakotas, where the majority of my people have lived their entire lives.
In those very isolated and isolated areas, we don’t have a lot in common.
I think my cultural heritage has given me a lot to learn from, and that’s a really important part of understanding yourself.
It helps you recognize how your own history may have influenced your identity.
I also really love that I’m in the United States.
I can speak with confidence about the things that I hear from people in the U.S. and around the world.
I don’t feel at all like I’m stuck in a foreign land.
I have a very broad and multicultural set of friends and acquaintances.
I am a good listener, and I get an insight into what’s going on around the globe.
I’ve met some of the world’s most interesting people and I love hearing them tell their stories.
And I really enjoy my own stories, too.
I guess the one thing I would say is that people in my culture are more likely to be honest with themselves, and to share their stories about their own lives.
That’s a big part of it, too, because it’s hard to be truthful about your own life.
You have to be willing to say the things you don’t want people to hear.
And in my case, I’ve found that people who I talk with are more open to sharing about their experiences, their experiences of racism, their stories of trauma, whatever.
I really like that about my culture.
It is very accepting of diversity.
And it has a lot more to do with what you eat, where you’re from, what your beliefs are.
And what you wear.
That part I think is really important.
When you come to the U, I think the cultural capital is important because you’re not just a stranger in your own country.
You’re part of a global community.
You’ve got to learn about how the world works and you’ve got a shared history with your neighbors.
I would encourage everyone to get involved in the culture of their own country and start connecting with each other.
I feel like I’ve always been very comfortable with who I am and who I love.
I love being part of this community and I’m really excited about the opportunities that lie ahead.
[Featured image via Getty Images]
