Cultural Diversity- 'Identity Crisis'!
Howdy Friends😀 Today, my post will focus on a significant aspect of my life - 'Culture'
As a person, I've grown up in a very culturally diverse environment. I was born in Pakistan but lived in the United Arab Emirates for a span of 15 years. Living in the UAE enabled me to get familiar with different cultural practices. For instance, despite of being a Pakistani, I seldom attired in beautiful Arabic clothes and absolutely loved eating the traditional middle-eastern cuisine. The falafel and the shawarma are definitely drool-worthy and mouth-watering. Moreover, I had a lot of Indian friends at school, which helped me to comprehend some aspects of the Indian culture as well. I enjoyed eating tangy indian snacks and found the Indian cuisine quiet self-indulging. Living in Dubai also gave me the pleasant opportunity to socialize and interact with people from different nationalities. This helped to enhance my knowledge about different traditions and made me feel more comfortable and delightful in my society.
At times, people complain that our generation is suffering from a major identity crisis and many of us fail to sense a belonging or a connection to a particular place. Some also claim that most of our cultural practices are not preserved and serve as a victim to heavy foreign influence. In fact, we all are so deeply involved into different cultural practices that we fail to identify ourselves to just one of them but in turn form a bond with all of them. 'Identity crisis' is recognized as something negative in our society as it is said to suppress our personality in the long run.
However, let's look at the flip side of the coin. Growing up in a multicultural environment helped me to experience a blend of cultures and get the knack of each and everyone of them. Different cultures help to familiarize you with unique and distinct worldly traditions and practices . In turn, it increases your knowledge and socialization and makes you more confident about your surroundings. It's always beneficial to be aware of what's happening around you. In that way, you will learn to relish every minute of life and become more willing to anticipate positive changes to your world. If you are familiar with different ways of living, then you are more likely to adopt the positive aspects of a culture and integrate them in your own household.
When you become an adult and step into a world of professionals, a brief understanding of the world will help to build up your personality and make you seem as a more intellectual and an assertive person. It will also enable you to blend into the environment with ease. Hence, I feel extremely lucky and privileged to grow up in an environment bounded with so many different cultures.
"Culture does not necessarily have to define who you are, but it does build up your personality and decide what aspects to incorporate in one's life"
-Rameen(:
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