Where do you stop being you


I define my cultural identity by the activities and beliefs that I engage the rest of the world with. When I'm in the workplace I am still very clearly representative of my culture but less representative of some subcultures to which I consider myself belonging to. For instance in work I am less over the top when it comes to making nerdy references. This may seem small but if I were with my friends I would routinely make a star wars reference of some equally embarrassing bit of nerdiness. Other areas of my cultural identity such as religion I am less up front about as well. Mostly from a feeling cultural anxiety that my beliefs may be misconstrued or judged. Religion is a cultural aspect that even amongst friends I sometimes do not feel comfortable discussing feeling it is a personal cultural indicator as opposed to something I demonstrate to the world. 

In my company I work with a particularly diverse group of individuals. the two employees I work the closest with are both Dominican and from the Bronx. this happens to be a cultural identity that I am very accustom to having many close friends of this identity. My employees are very proud of where they come from and I always enjoy observing and participating in cultural facets of which I may be unaware. I feel extremely comfortable in the Bronx essentially at all times but not having lived there I was able to learn that after 9 PM a lot of areas close down all the shops making the area much more desolate and unpopulated creating more risk and unsafety. I hadn't known this until working with my co-workers and appreciated getting more familiar with the neighborhoods that I spend so much of my life in.

Yes but mostly from the perspective of work being work and personal life being personal life. I identify as being a big Yankee fan and watching all the games I can and wearing all the gear I can. It's very important to my family and most days I'll text my mom about the Yankees. I however wouldn't think it was appropriate to bring this aspect of my personality into the work place. I may talk a little bit about them with a co-worker or even wear my Yankee hat if in a relaxed setting. To really embrace my inner fan at work would be inappropriate and interfere with the work I'm trying to accomplish. 

Comments

Popular Posts