Embrace Your Culture | Maya Ryan, Toronto Varsity Blues

In honour of the inaugural Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Anti-Racism Awareness Week, individuals from our member institutions shared insights into their own cultural upbringing, how they continue to celebrate their culture, and why they feel it is important to learn about and embrace cultures other than their own.  

Please describe what your own cultural upbringing was like?
My cultural upbringing was very diverse. My mother is Indian, and my father is from the Caribbean, so I grew up learning about both cultures, languages, and foods, which I believe was a great upbringing.

How has your cultural upbringing influenced you throughout your life?
I think my upbringing has made me very strong and hard working. My parents both immigrated to this country when they were very young with their respective families, and they watched their parents work hard to support them. My parents have always instilled in me that because you are Black you have to work 10 times harder than the average person to gain the results and respect you want in whatever you choose to do, and to always be kind.

Are there ways in which you continue to celebrate your culture?
I embrace and love both my cultures. I speak Punjabi and I also know how to cook both my cultures’ types of foods. I also love being around my grandparents and family from both sides and hearing stories and learning about my culture.

Why do you feel it is important to embrace and celebrate your culture?
It is important for me personally to embrace and celebrate my culture because, for years because of slavery and colonization, our culture was taken away from us, and in some ways forgotten about. So it is very important now that we have the tools to learn about our culture and embrace it, we need to do that so the next generation can also know about it as well.

Why do you feel it is important for people to learn about cultures other than their own?
It is important for people to learn about cultures other than their own because this world is filled with millions of people that come from all different walks of life. And it is important for everyone to embrace each other and our differences and one way to do that is learn about different cultures and customs.