Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

The most common form of microaggression is racial, in my opinion. 

The only time I can depict an accurate time is when I had a friend whom was African-American and her family or other friends would tell her that because she was educated and spoke English well rather than in slang, she was acting "white," as they described it. 

This depiction obviously shocked me in a sense that someone can act "white," or act any particular race. I didn't think it was necessary to describe her actions as a part of the stereotype associated with white people or with people who are educated. 

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I think overall, diversity is a very broad term and there are millions of different ways to classify people and their cultural background.

I have some Hispanic and other Pacific Islander (Hawaiian, Filipino) friends and family that share the same cultural guideline as Guamanian culture.

Hispanics have influenced the Guamanian culture in terms of the language as the number system is all Spanish.

Filipino's share a strong similarity with the line of respect and partying that comes with Guamanian culture. We have a strong belief in elderly respect as well as strong family ties.

Thinking about other people and their culture, I tend to find some similarities as well as some differences in comparison to my own and even other culture's that I am familiar with.

I am incredibly interested in the dynamics of culture in the Middle East.

Culture as a broad topic is incredibly diverse and there are similarities across the line for some cultures, but there are also strong differences with others and that's what makes the idea of culture and diversity as interesting as it is.

My Family Culture

Considering the catastrophic event, the three things I would take to represent my culture would be:

• Guam flag
• Latte stone piece
• Picture of Guam 

I think the flag is a large representation of any culture and anyone's society. The flag represents the uniformity of the area and I believe that it is something easily recognized by other countries/cultures. It's a defining piece that people use to represent their culture or background. 

The Latte stone is specific to Guam and its heritage. It represents the foundation of society and the pieces come together to build from the base up. 

Lastly, a picture of Guam simply to remember what it looks like and to never forget the sight. 

If I was told I had to give something up, it would be a difficult toss-up between the picture and the flag. Both are dominant pieces that can be considered incredibly useful in explaining my culture to someone else.