Comprehensive Reflection

    Over the course of this semester, I have learned so much in Multicultural Psychology. It’s hard for me to imagine a time when I didn’t relate class content to the real world. But there was a time. On the first day of class Julian asked us to describe our culture. I was at a loss. I didn’t think I had a culture – I thought hmmm, I’m white, I’m not religious, and I don’t know what else influences culture. That was before I learned all about what culture is and what makes up different cultures. So many of the things we do, media we consume, things we read, music we listen to make up culture. There is not a culture-less person on this planet. Culture encompasses so much – ideas, beliefs, social habits, language, religion, clothing, fashion, relationships, food, entertainment, learning. Everything we do and who we do it with influences our own culture. 

    Some of my biggest take aways from this class include acculturation experiences of immigrants, the experience of first-generation college students, and the large and important role culture plays in individual’s lives. Watching the video of the Syrian family move to the U.S. and try to acculturate made me cry. They are trying to flee a war. They’re home and everything they knew was destroyed, and some of their loved ones were killed. They finally make it to a safe place, and they can’t speak the language or understand it, and they are expected to fill out a bunch of forms in English with paperwork they might not have. To make matters worse, there are people who have not met the Syrian family seeking asylum, but demanding they leave and accusing them of horrible things like being a terrorist. It’s heart breaking, that that Syrian family has to put up with so much. Learning about the stages of acculturation and the different types of acculturation strategies people use to integrate into a new society was super important and insightful. Next semester I have an internship in which I will be working with kids and teens that are waiting to be placed in foster homes. These adolescents will be coming from a vast variety of backgrounds, so keeping the acculturation stages and strategies in mind will help me better support them. Culture plays a large and important role in why people behave the way they do. Culture impacts people in so many ways, from their values to the way they learn, behave, and talk. I will try to remember everything I have learned in multicultural psychology going forward because it is vital in understanding and working with people. Another topic that was impactful is the struggles first generation college students face. I don’t have that experience myself, my parents went to college and so did their parents. I had a difficult time coming and adjusting to college life, so I can’t imagine how hard it would be for first generation college students. In class, we talked about how some first-generation students come from collectivistic cultures and feel as though they are getting their diploma for their whole family. That’s a lot of pressure, and an important consideration if you are trying to help that individual. That’s why multicultural psychology is so important. Without taking this class, I wouldn’t know that first-generation students from collectivistic societies have the additional stress placed on them of feeling like they are earning their diploma for their whole family. There are so many situations that me, who comes from a western individualistic culture, wouldn’t even think of or know about without this class. 

    In addition to helping me understand where people are coming from, I can now see how culture has shaped me. Every blog post I wrote about affected me in some way. I knew that Hawaii was colonized, but I didn’t know how bad the process was and how it still affects Hawaiians today. Learning about the lived experiences of Filipinx teachers taught me about another culture and the importance of representation in education. Observing Alicia Cunningham-Bryant’s ancient aliens talk three years after participating showed me how much I have grown and learned since then. Alicia asked a student their opinion on the argument that the pyramids were built by aliens being racist. The student said, “I don’t personally think about whether or not things are racist.” That shocked me because you know, you should care if things are racist in order to be a decent human being. It also shocked me because I can’t imagine what it would be like to go through the world and not think things I encounter critically, especially regarding everything I have learned in multicultural psychology. At the beginning of the semester, Julian told the class that we would start seeing things out in the real world that connect with what we learned about in class. It’s true, and it’s the whole point of the blog assignment. I enjoyed writing my blog posts and reflecting on what I had learned and challenging myself to make connections to what I have learned with things that may not have been the obvious choice (Moulin Rouge! The Musical). 

In my other psych classes we have talked about the importance of learning about multicultural psychology, especially if you want to go into any helping profession. Thank you Julian, I have learned so much, and I intend to continue learning about multicultural psychology.