Correlation and Natural observation - Essay Example

When I look back on my life in Saudi Arabia and compare it with my current experiences in the Western world I recognize that in great part they were very similar. Growing up I came to understand that people are pretty much the same wherever one goes. If you treat a person fairly and act as a good and unselfish individual then, usually, most others will treat you the same; similarly, I always believed that hard work and honesty would always pay off. This may be considered as an informal naturalistic observation of human interactions in different cultural contexts.

While scientific research has been conducted, and continues to be conducted in this area; my understanding of these concepts has also been strongly been shaped by my own experiences. It may be possible to verify my observations by using correlation studies that try to gauge the similarities in the work ethic and the attitudes and core behaviors of people in the two countries. Around the age of 15 I got my first job. I worked at a local deli/restaurant. I didn’t necessarily enjoy the job. The deli was always packed so I had to work hard and would usually go home exhausted.

What made it much worse was that my boss was demanding and didn’t seem to care for me – at least that’s the way it seemed. I soon learned that he was just sort of a rough person to be around. I learned not to be even slightly late and that getting time off was not an option, even in case of sickness. Despite the rough situation at the job, I stuck it out for a couple of years and gradually learned to tolerate and live with the tough work conditions. When I consider my present day character and outlook on life I think back to my teenage years working at this restaurant in Saudi Arabia and realize that it was a major personality shaping period in my life.

Even more so than my time at school or my family’s Islamic religious influences, the situation taught me the importance of seeing through a tough situation and that eventually hard work and perseverance will pay off. This is my personal experience with the Nature – Nurture debate. My genetic heritage gave me strengths and abilities that I cherish; but the cultural shaping of my behaviors by family and religion; and especially the attitudes and work behaviors I picked up while working at the deli have become cornerstones in how I deal with situations and respond to problems.

At 18 I finished my time in school. I continued working at the restaurant and saving money until I could find something better. I considered college, but ultimately wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life and besides my family didn’t have a large amount of money to contribute. I moved out of my parents’ home, but kept the ritual of going to the market every Saturday. It was during this time that I first met Saadiya. She had been working there for many years, but one day I met her and suddenly started feeling a little differently.

It was a warm tingling coupled with a sort of anxious energy. I guess you could call this love. It seemed that she felt the same way because she started paying more attention to me and would fill my bag with extra fruits whenever I went to her stand. It wasn’t long before we began spending time together. I took her to a park which had an elaborate trail with flowers and landscape architecture and somewhere along the path we kissed for the first time. The next year of my life progressed in a great