What Value Do I Add?

That is a difficult question and honestly I dislike the question here as much as I dislike it while conducting my annual self performance appraisal.  Since I can’t procrastinate to the last minute like I normally do with a self appraisal I am going to dive into the process.  My greatest strength lies in being a culturally diverse person. Throughout my life I have lived in geographically different locations in the United States and overseas.  Each place in which I have lived has given me an overview of culture, traditions, and beliefs from a city, state, and country level.  I understand how culture, traditions, and belief can shape human behavior.

I enjoy learning about different culture, traditions, and beliefs through conversation.   I do not necessarily enjoying learning about this information in a classroom/reading format.  My preference is being able to sit down with someone and discuss their family traditions around something as simple as what they eat during the holiday season.  Food is a universal topic in my opinion because everyone eats food.  It is just the type of food is different from geographic locations and cultures. There are so many traditions that are ingrained food and food customs.

These types of conversations always lead to insight about a person, what they hold important, and why they hold something to be important.  For example last year I had a conversation with my co-worker about her holiday traditions.  This conversation stemmed from her Swedish roots and included their traditional Swedish smorgasbord.  Amazingly, because of the conversation she has invited me and my family to take part in the tradition next year. My family and I will get to experience something we would never have had the opportunity to experience otherwise.

What concerns me about this class is the religion aspect of things.  I do not consider myself a deeply religious person.  In fact, I consider myself a spiritual person that believes that there is in fact a higher being but do not define them as God or Allah.   Religion can produce such a heated discussion that it is listed among the topics that you should avoid at work, right next to politics. I know that sometimes I am not as open as I can be around religious discussions.  I do not have an aversion to learning the history of a particular religion but sometimes the history of a religion can be in debate.  In this course I will need to make a concerting effort to remain open to a topic that I know I have a bias about.

I feel that this class will be better with me in the class because I bring my own unique beliefs and experiences to the table.  Conversely, I think that this class will be better with everyone in this course.  We all have our own beliefs and experiences and we can learn from each other.  Our experiences together can spark a different view of the world that help promote change in ourselves, others, and the communities in which we live.