Florida is the hottest part of the melting pot that is the United States. Our community is filled with people from all over the world, constantly speaking different languages and practicing different cultural norms. However, we often fail to realize the impact these people have on our own development and worldviews.
Do you often catch yourself doing things you wouldn’t expect? As for me, I now willingly listen to Hispanic music, something I hated before I befriended so many Hispanic people. But, constantly being around their language, immersing myself in their culture, and trying to communicate with them, the songs I once thought annoying are music to my ears. These small yet impactful influences shape who we are. Take Boca Raton local High School student Isabella Marcelino, who experienced a similar cultural shift after participating in a foreign exchange program with Italian students, “Exploring the Italian culture has taught me how others live their lives differently from mine, giving me the opportunity to connect with people I’d never expect.”
Thus, Intercultural relationships are vital to our growth as individuals. According to Communications Professor, Dr. Young Yun Kim, from the University of Oklahoma, we increasingly experience an “identity transformation” as “we are challenged to step into a domain that reaches beyond the original cultural perimeters…[we] form a new perspective that allows more openness and acceptance of differences in people. So, as our identity and sense of self alter, so does our understanding and empathy towards others.” Not only does withholding friendships with people from different cultures alter our own personality and habits, but it also shifts the way we see others.
As explained by Ali Hashemi from Yazd University in Iran, “Navigating Identity and Belonging,” people adapt to diversity as they interact with individuals from various cultural backgrounds, ultimately shaping our understanding of how our differences enrich our relationships. The increase in interaction between people from diverse cultures has resulted in more complex identities. Individuals constantly adjust their identity in response to various cultural values and norms.
If you think you have not been this “easily” influenced by the different cultures around you, just think about walking through the hallways every day at school. Turn the corner, and you hear people speaking Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, or Russian. Students trading their foreign snacks at lunch, teaching their friends how to say “hi” in their language, or sharing their countries’ local music. Being a high school student, you’ve likely experienced at least one of these situations. As senior Susana Velasquez said, “It’s so weird to think that sharing a little bit of your culture with others makes you learn about yourself and them, like you’re giving someone a little piece of who you are and they are to you, making ourselves whole.” These influences have greater effects than students realize, as proven by Jiatong Yu researcher from the University of Toronto, “When individuals are exposed to new cultural environments, they form fresh and mutually influential connections between these environments and their own identities.”
It is important to appreciate and embrace these opportunities and having these multicultural relationships, for our own benefit. It encourages empathy and prepares us for diverse academic and work environments. Also said by Ali Hashemi, “Intercultural interactions enable people to acquire the appropriate skills to navigate a multicultural environment, making them citizens of the world with the prepared skills and mindsets for any environment.” I have come to realize that my knowledge about diverse cultures and languages has given me an upper hand in social, academic, and work environments. I better empathize with people; while researching a project, I aim to look at it from different perspectives, and at work, when I interact with people from different cultures, I am able to level with them, speak with my clients in different languages, creating a sense of belonging and being able to bring innovative ideas to the table, as stated by Google CEO Sundar Pichai: “A diverse mix of voices leads to better discussions, decisions, and outcomes for everyone.” So, encouraging diversity and seeking a broader understanding of the world prepares us for academic and professional environments, but also allows us to create more empathetic relationships and communities.
Interethnic relationships enrich our understanding of ourselves and others. We gain more appreciation for our own values and culture while developing an understanding of others. According to Talita Pruett, Communications Professor at Bakersfield College, learning new customs and traditions can be fun and exciting, but also force us to identify what we think we know about ourselves. While communicating with my Hispanic friends, I realized things about my culture that I didn’t know were specific to it. Such as, in Brazil, it’s common to have your first name, then your mom’s last name, followed by your dad’s last name, but in Colombia, it is the opposite; it’s your first name, followed by your father’s last name, then your mom’s last name. Cultural aspects such as this, like interesting facts, slang, or habits, I discover by immersing myself in different cultures. My friends and I banter with each other to see which culture makes more sense and which one is better, yet we don’t realize that these interactions are actually enriching our own sense of identity, our own cultural knowledge, and even our friendships.
Overall, we’ve covered how interethnic relationships benefit us, broaden our perspective on the world, and shape who we are. Living in a place and attending a school as diverse as ours, it is accessible to immerse in these small moments that we often overlook. Next time you catch yourself listening to Hispanic music, Korean music, or talking to someone who’s from a different country than you, embrace those opportunities. Realize that connecting with people from different cultures enriches who you are as a person and your skills. So, embrace curiosity and listen to the world.
