Identity and Self-Reflection - Essay Example

Introduction Diversity is important in all aspects of life, especially due to the fact that people share ideas and share different talents that are core to the strength of the society. I realized that diversity was an issue in the society at an early age. However, I could not understand its importance. I did not understand why people were different, though I knew they were, especially when my parents moved from one country to another. I was born in Bulgaria where I stayed for several years, after which our family shifted to Italy and then Greece. I did not have a chance to learn any of the other languages, even though I knew that it might have helped in communication with the other children who were good in their native languages. After migrating to Canada 4 years ago, I could not join the mainstream class due to the language barrier. I had to attend a special class in order for me to learn English, which was the main language of communication as well as education. More over, I had to attend high school in order to acquire the entry grades for college level education. My experience is a clear indication of the impact of language and age on the development of an individual. This essay is a personal reflection in regard to the experiences that I encountered in the course of migrating to the various countries. It indicates the knowledge that I have acquired in regard to diversity in terms of age and language, and my awareness on how it has been constructed through incorporating other ideas from scholarly work. Identity and Self-Reflection Language is a major determinant of a person’s relations in the society. When one can not communicate through the mainstream language, he/she is viewed as having a weakness in many communities. I felt excluded in virtually many societies that I lived in through out my childhood. I never learnt any other language, which made it difficult for me to get educated in classes where for example English was the main language of instruction. I therefore could not access the common privileges like the rest of the students who were able to communicate in all languages. However, I valued education and therefore I had to do all that could be done in order to accomplish what the other students did. I learnt to work hard in order to complete college, which opened a new perspective in my life, especially through the realization determination was the key to accomplishing personal desires in life. Valuing diversity has given me some leadership qualities that have been useful in my college life, especially the capability to lead teams in order to accomplish a common goal. With my values for other cultures, I am able to interact freely with diverse groups of people, with different perspectives regarding issues. These values have given me the motivation to work as a leader in organizations that encourage diversity. They have made me to realize that different people have different talents which they can bring in to an organization to help in problem solving or contribute to its productivity through innovativeness. These talents are also distributed across various cultures globally. Excluding a particular culture from a team due cultural differences from that culture which is assumed to be the mainstream inhibits the capability of people from offering their worthwhile contributions regarding a team’s operations. Relying on the popular culture presents a team with the risk of poor performance since there is little chance of different opinions regarding issues (Scott 2007 p 112). In the many teams that I have led, diversity has been core to their success. This is mainly due to the process that I have undergone in developing my identity. I have experienced exclusion due to my culture and language, a mistake that I can not allow to recur in my life when treating other people. My experience has helped me to learn that appreciating diversity helps in promoting fair and just leadership. If a team is to survive to accomplish its goals, it needs leaders who appreciate the services and opinion of people from various cultural, religious, racial backgrounds, as well as certain aspects associated with language, class as well as gender. Discrimination is a form of oppression that I have learnt should not be practiced by leaders who have a strong vision for their teams. Such leaders are likely to develop essential problem solving skills due to their exposure to various cultures, each of which has its own way of approaching issues. They develop the desired flexibility which is important for the success of the team. This means that they are ready to steer it in the direction that presents greater chances of accomplishing organizational goals. Age is among the aspects of the society that are overlooked more often by communities globally. The needs of children are not taken care of in many communities. Rather, adults in many instances believe that they know what is good for their children, and that, they have no right to disapprove instructions, even though they might be wrong. From my experience, I realized that I could not have done anything on my own since I was a child. My age prevented me from being inquisitive about my parents’ movements. As a child, I was supposed to follow what my parents decided was good for me. However, I have come to realize that everybody needs to be listened to, no matter how old he/she may be. Age needs not be a factor to associate with personality. I also came to learn that age determines the attachment between the parent and a child. At a particular time, my parents were enthusiastic about everything I did or said. Nevertheless, immediately they learnt that I had begun associating with children from other communities, they were wild and disagreed with me completely. However, I was just interested about cultural diversity, an issue that remained unclear to me, even at the age of 18 years. I wanted to learn much regarding other people’s culture. I needed to understand why we were different, and why other foreign students could understand the native language so quickly, yet I travelled to so many countries without speaking a word in any other language apart from my own. But I realized that language is acquired from a range of sources through listening and speaking, especially as a child (Genishi and Goodwin 2007 p 76). I also came to understand that it is difficult for a child to learn a foreign language than it is for a grown up. This made me appreciate the fact that my chances of learning another language were predestined. I also realized that as a child, I could not go against my parents’ decision. I could not refuse to migrate together with them, whether or not the practice affected my learning. Children usually do not have the power to choose where they would like to live. That is why no one should be accused of having grown up in a particular place and not the other. In conclusion, appreciating diversity, my values towards others, the desire to accomplish personal goals and the circumstances in which I have developed my identity have led to the development of my strong leadership qualities. I have realized that all humans should be respected, regardless of their age, cultural background, race, language and religion among other aspects under which people discriminate others. This understanding has opened up many privileges to lead. This is because people appreciate my leadership style, and they always feel comfortable working with me. Oppression inhibits the power of the people to contribute meaningful ideas (Scott 2007 p 112). Development of my strong leadership qualities can be attributed to the desire to ensure that people are able to live a better life than the experiences that I encountered as I grew up. References 1. Genishi C. and Goodwin A. L. Diversities in Early Childhood Education: Rethinking and Doing, Routledge, 2007. 2. Scott P. The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools and Societies. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2007. Read More