This semester has brought a great deal of growth and understanding. Throughout this Cultural Course, many topics were introduced all surrounding how culture can play important roles in people’s lives. Culture is somewhat a foreign topic to me since I have not truly understood my own. However, I have gained a greater understanding of my culture and other cultures that are different from my own. This article will discuss my own growth and awareness in my own views of culture and other cultures as well.
Growth & Awareness
Culture is an important topic to be aware of for yourself and for clients. As a counselor, many different people will come to our services from many different cultures. At the beginning of this class, I was excited to learn about different cultures, but I had not even thought about how my own culture affects me. Culture can affect perception, behavior, and personality without conscious awareness, and I did not truly understand that until this class. By learning about my own culture and learning more about myself, I really grew in a different and productive way. It is interesting how some may feel very connected to a culture, while some have no clue about the effects it can have and how it has made you who you are. In my case, I knew very little about what culture was and I was resistant to how it was significant. Ironically, the resistance might have been a sign of my own cultural perceptions and basis. It was not until I was on the service-learning trip when I realized that becoming more aware of my own culture is necessary when working with others. My own ideas and beliefs could have easily left me in a position to judge the Native American culture simply because it is vastly different from my own. Understanding my own and being open-minded to the difference that was between the cultures was a huge growing point for me. It showed me I do have certain things about my personality and beliefs that make me who I am. This class pushed me to grow in a way I did not know I needed. It helped to understand who I am, but also showed me I am able to look outside of myself and learn about others different from myself. Before I really understood and learned about other cultures, I needed to grow and become more aware of my own beliefs.
Learning about myself lead to a greater understanding of the other cultures we learned about in this class. Many times, in class we discussed the likelihood of having clients of different cultures than our own. It is very likely, and it is our duty to be knowledgeable about what those beliefs involve. It is a delicate balance between understanding someone’s culture and also not limiting them to only that. Every person is unique even within their culture, having a background about the culture will only give a counselor some insight on the individual but could be vital. Before this class, I knew very little about any different beliefs, education about those cultures seems to be something that should be taught in grade school but is not. It was not until graduate school till I gained a better understanding of different cultures and became more open-minded as well. Having classes that incorporate the different cultures would be so useful and could lead to a lot more understanding in America. Instead, the American culture seems to be okay with stereotypes and fearing those who are different which is a sad thing to think upon. The insight on different cultures and how America has treated them is devastating and this class opened my eyes to the injustice. I believe this has not only educated me about other cultures but also a desire to advocate for those who are suffering from injustice.
One of the largest injustices in American history was the Native American people. Again, in school, I learned very little about the Native American people and how they were treated. Going on the South Dakota Cheyenne River service-learning trip was an amazing experience. Being able to go onto a Native American reservation, gave me the opportunity to experience the culture in a way I could not simply learn from a book. While learning about this culture from the book was insightful, serving, and being within the community lead to further growth and understanding. I realized that being within the culture is so different than learning about it in class. This trip and class have not only lead to a greater knowledge of Native American culture but also a passion to advocate for the people.
Conclusion
This semester pushed me in more ways than I have been before. The growth and awareness I experience were interesting and I felt I progressed in ways I did not know I needed. As a future counselor and art therapist I know I will be working with many different people and understanding their culture will be an important part I need to incorporate. This semester taught me a lot about who I am and how my culture affects me as a person and counselor. Learning about different cultures has been eye-opening and I hope to show future clients I want to be aware and welcoming to all. While learning about different cultures, I learned that experiencing cultures can be even more insightful. Going on the service-learning trip to a South Dakota reservation showed me so much more than a book could of and I am grateful for the trip. I hope to go on more trips in the future and continue in this growth around understand different cultures and being more aware in general.
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