AMETH 300 Blog

 Over the years I have met lots of different types of people. Most of them are white, straight, middle class, and some form of Christian. This isn't entirely the case though as some of the people in my social groups don't fit into these categories. Here are a few examples of diversity I find that are different. My Uncle's family is Catholic.  Some of my friends are conservative and others are liberal.  Some of my friends are less fortunate than me and have to pay their own rent, buy their own cars, and/or pay for their tuition. Some of my friends have a trust fund. I know some mixed race people and some Hispanic people. I have some gay/bisexual friends. I'm not super close with everyone I just referred to above, but I would say that some of my closest friends don't hold some of the same values and preferences I do. For instance, One of my close friends leans really far left politically even though I find myself more in the middle. Another one of my friends is gay an...

 Last week kicked my butt. I was dealing with a lot of school, extracurricular activities and small social events here and there. Covid-19 has changed my life quite a bit but things definitely aren't any slower. Sometimes, it's hard for me to sit down and think for a minute. I'm so distracted all the time and any down time I have I devote to my phone, a Netflix series or a video game. Recently, I started talking to a friend again who I hadn't talked to in almost two years. She's Vietnamese like me and can speak the language really well. We relate in some ways and differ in others but it was fun comparing her experience as a young Vietnamese woman to mine, a young half-Vietnamese man. It got me thinking about some of the identities that affect me most--I am a straight, biracial, middle class, able-bodied Christian male.  In many ways I am privileged. Being a male has its perks and I support other men. My sex affects almost every single aspect of my life from the way ...

 I want to to take some time to talk about the neighborhood I grew up in. I lived in the suburbs in Olathe, Kansas for my whole adolescent life. I went to the local elementary school right smack in the middle of the neighborhood, so I got to know many of the kids from the area. A new middle school was built less than three minutes from my house the year I was going into 6th grade, so I also went to the local middle school as well for all three years. Most families were middle class white families with jobs in the Kansas City area, and I always felt like at least on my street there were not many other kids my age. Most of my neighbors on my street were old people or had kids in high school or college. I don't remember any minority families on my street and very few kids at my school. When I go back home, I see how things have changed a little bit. There are a lot more businesses in the area and the demographic is still largely the same; there are a lot of white people, but on my str...

There is a lot of diversity in the world. Everyone comes from a different place and for the next few months I would like to learn what makes myself and others so diverse.  I have been learning about how every single connection I have in my life has affected me in different ways. My family, my school, my city, my friends, my church, the list goes on and on. These are the social groups I've been put in throughout my life and my personal experience is unique from anyone else. Don't get me wrong, I love talking about my self, but I believe you don't get anywhere just telling others about you. It's much more productive to inquire about others' lives. I want to learn about the experiences and struggles others go through that are different than me so I can become more aware and educated. I am concerned that this journey may cause me to face my assumptions and biases that I have towards certain people. Some examples include poor people, immigrants, and people who grew up in...