Embrace Your Culture | Renee Armstrong, Guelph Gryphons
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?
I was born and raised in Canada; however, both of my parents are from the Caribbean. For the most part, my parents didn't explicitly discuss their cultural roots (and by extension my own) until I started to ask more questions as I got older. We celebrate some holidays that are not celebrated in Canada and we have certain customs that are reminiscent of my parents' roots.
How has your cultural upbringing influenced you throughout your life?
As I mentioned, my cultural upbringing was not a prevalent component of my life by virtue of the fact that my parents never explicitly outlined what our culture was. For the majority of my life, I expressed my culture through the foods that I ate, the music I listened to, my extracurricular activities, and even the way that I interacted with my peers (learned from observing my parents). It's hard to say exactly how my cultural upbringing has influenced my life aside from the differences that I could both see and feel from my peers growing up. I have attended predominantly white institutions (PWI) for my whole life so I have always felt a sense of being an outsider in my environment. Despite this, I will say that the camaraderie and joy I felt (and continue to feel) when I meet someone from the same region of the world as my family has fueled my own curiosity of my culture as well as allowed me to develop some wonderful friendships.
Are there ways in which you continue to celebrate your culture?
I mostly celebrate my culture through the foods, music, and even entertainment that I consume. Outside of those, I love talking about my culture with my friends and family.
Why do you feel it is important to embrace and celebrate your culture?
For a long time, I felt fairly disconnected from my culture and, during that time, I'd say that I felt out of place in a lot of spaces. Moreover, I felt almost this sense of shame surrounding this huge aspect of my identity which made me hesitant to share my culture with even my closest friends. But so many doors were opened for me as a result of embracing my culture (e.g. new friendships, greater self-esteem, a stronger sense of community, etc.).
Why do you feel it is important for people to learn about cultures other than their own?
This may be cheesy, but I believe that by having an understanding of different cultures, one can begin to develop a deeper appreciation for the people around them. I LOVE learning about and experiencing new cultures, so I might be a bit biased, but in all honesty, I believe that different cultures act as windows into unique ways of life as well as bridges that have the ability to show us that we are more similar than we are different.
