The influence of China - Assignment Example

Identity By Word Count: 742 There are many different countries in the world today, thus the country of origin of an individual is an important aspect that defines their identity. My country of origin is China, and this, I consider as having a major influence on me as an individual and generally my identity. As an emerging economy, China is popular and considered a strong economy in the Asian continent. The influence of China on other countries, including those in Africa as well as the relationship China has with other developed nations in Europe and America has put the country into the global focus.

As an individual, all these and many other aspects associated with China have shaped my identity. As a young boy growing up in China, I was not concerned with my identity and aspects of diversity. However, as I grew up through my teenage years, I started to become more aware of myself as a person and my surrounding environment and it is through this way that I realised diversity. However, there is one major way through which I became aware of the aspect of my identity that relates to my country of origin.

This was when I left China for the first time to stay in a different country, and in this case the United States. Here, I met people from different walks of life even as the U.S. is a highly multicultural nation. What hit me most is that during introductions with the new people I met, everyone was interested in what Asian country I was from. Therefore, I found myself introducing myself to people and mentioning repeatedly that I was from China. Thus, I had to identify myself with my country of origin more.

Back in China, I did not find myself in such a situation since I was home. The fact that my country of origin is China has had different implications in my academic life. For instance, academically, my colleagues who were from other countries and not China, thought of me as a mathematics and science genius. Therefore, they expected me to excel in any test or problem involving mathematics or science. In addition, most of them that were faced with different challenges tackling a mathematics problem would rush to me for assistance.

People have a notion that the Chinese people are good in math and science. Nonetheless, this influenced me in such a way that I had to study hard especially in math and science and grasp major concepts in the fields so that I would prove to my colleagues that I was actually good in these two subjects. Personally, this had positive impact on me as I excelled in the two subjects. However, I sometimes felt that I strained quite a lot just to maintain the perception of most of my colleagues that being from China made me a math and science genius.

This aspect of my identity has a considerable effect on my future career path. Being from China and living in a different country has taught me quite exciting lessons. I have discovered that some of the things I took for granted about myself are unique to some people and make me special. With regard to my future career, I plan to work in foreign countries and not restrict myself to my country of origin. People view me positively especially the fact that China is my country of origin. Although there are a few negative experiences I have encountered, those were just on the minor side.

Focusing on the positive therefore, I believe that I have a bright future especially with regard to my career. I would especially like to work with people from different countries, as I have realised that there is a lot to learn from people of different world nations. Nonetheless, how people view me has no influence on me. This is because I understand and know myself including my weaknesses and strengths, thus people’s views will not change me. In light of these issues, I would like to work in a multicultural work environment.

My experiences with regard to being from China have taught me to love and embrace diversity. However, there are some challenges that I might face especially stereotypes and discrimination based on race. These challenges will only strengthen me since I have already experienced most of them and have actually made me stronger and more appreciative of other people’s cultures and identities and perfected my intercultural communication skills.