For a school assignment I was asked to write about 3 cultures that I belong to that contribute to the person I am today. I decided to take a different angle and focus on perception. I was told I should post it so... here it is.
The Cultural Composition: More to Me Than
Meets the Eye
Many
people decide who I am before they ever meet me. As unfortunate as this may seem, I’ve had to
embrace this circumstance as reality. As
a young African-American male in today’s society, assumptions are made about my
character, upbringing, and personality on a daily basis. Many times I have my voice taken from me
before having the chance to speak. As I grew older, I became increasingly more
determined to correct those misconceptions, thwart those stereotypes, and
destroy those stigmas. I set out to ensure that once people got to know me,
they’d understand why they shouldn’t be so quick to conceive their own
premature opinions. I’ve learned that
people fear what they don’t understand. There’s much more to myself, or any
individual for that matter, than what can be seen on the surface. There are a
bevy of cultural factors and influences that have helped to shape the young man
I have become today and the way I carry myself.
A few of them can easily be seen from the outside looking in. Hip hop,
sports, and sneakers are all very vital to me. They are also a part of the
premature public perception that others may form. But the untrained eye can’t
fully understand the way said cultures have influenced me individually.
Hip
hop is an enormous part of my life. There is a universal appreciation for music,
although for many different genres and variations. So while almost everyone can
appreciate a love for music, not every individual can relate to everyone else’s taste.
I believe that hip hop unfairly receives a negative connotation from the
general public. People tend to write it off due to unfamiliarity and don’t seem
to understand the positive effect that hip hop can have. Many artists have
positive messages and great storytelling abilities that they still manage to
tie together wonderfully into a hit song. Hip hop has helped me through some of
the toughest times in my life, and been the soundtrack to my best times. I’ve
learned a lot about the world and myself through the music alone. Hip hop
introduced me to the fact that I actually enjoyed writing, as I was inspired to
begin writing myself by my favorite artist. My role model graduated Magna Cum
Laude from St. John’s University. But because he’s a “rapper”, that
automatically receives a negative perception. Many people don’t understand
there’s more to the music. Many people don’t understand there’s more to me.
From
a very young age I was enamored with sports. Whether it be watching sports,
playing outside with friends, playing for a team, or even keeping up with stats
and rumors on the internet. Sports have
played a very big role in the person I am to this point because they have
surrounded me for my entire life. I
played sports all throughout my years growing up. Being part of teams and
having a craft to dedicate myself to taught me a lot about cooperation,
structure, discipline, and hard work. Often times athletes are given the “jock”
label insinuating that one may not be as bright. I think often times it’s quite
the contrary. I feel that having to balance so many different aspects of life
around and with my athletics helped to make me the well-rounded individual that
I am today. In high school, the average student gets home at 3:00 pm. I can
probably count on two hands how many times I was home that early. Due to
practices and games, I would get to school at 7:00 am and wouldn’t get home
until anywhere between 7:00 and 11:00 pm. I feel that has played a large role
in my ability to adjust to my circumstances. On a lesser note, I’m a sports
fanatic when it comes to my professional teams. I’ve stuck with my teams
through thick and thin, rougher times than most could imagine. I believe that
speaks to and has helped to shape my loyalty in other areas of life as
well. Once again, there’s more beneath
the surface.
Lastly,
the impact of the sneaker culture is understood by only a select few, those who
are a part of it. Sneakers were an
immense part of growing into the person I am today because they gave me a
chance to express myself when I needed it most. As crazy as it may seem, the
timing of the development of my sneaker obsession in high school matches up
almost perfectly with me beginning to figure out who I was at that age. I don’t
believe that it was a coincidence. Sneakers also helped me to become
self-sufficient. I fell in love with sneakers during that awkward period in
high school where you’re too young to get a job but your parents see you as too
old to just buy things for you. So I began selling candy in school to feed my
sneaker obsession. I made about $80-$100 a week selling candy and I would save
it up with a target date in mind for whatever sneakers were coming out.
Spending hours reading online sneaker forums, standing in lines and calling
every store in the mall on sneaker release dates became second nature. The
ability to express and sustain myself started with the sneaker culture. That’s
why they will always be more than “just sneakers” to me.
Looking
back, the impact that these cultures had in my life is immense, bigger than
most would imagine. With the interests of hip hop, sports, and sneakers, most
people would paint their own picture in their head as to what kind of person
that individual might be, just as many people paint a picture of me before
being handed brush. I just hope to be able to show others that you can’t
necessarily put people in a box when it comes to their culture. Inability to
relate should not equal failure to understand. There’s more to each culture,
not just the ones I described or am a part of. There’s more to me than most
would see.
