My Cultural Identity

• My Cultural Identity

I define my culture as common but unique.  I grew up in a strict Irish Catholic family, wearing thrift shop clothes and uniforms until I graduated from high school.  My parents pushed me to be independent but controlled everything, from who my friends were to where I was allowed to go to College; I was only able to go to a community college, not Vermont, where my heart was.  I wanted to ski and become a teacher.  My parents did not support skiing as a career, I understand that.  However, being a teacher was not something I was able to articulate when I was young.  I was very quiet and unsure of myself.  My parents did not know I wanted to be a teacher.  I ended up in secretarial school after I dropped out of college, which is something I had to do because my sister did it.  I needed to get a job - not a career.  My brothers were encouraged and allowed to go to college.  My dad wanted to pay for their college educations and me and my sister's weddings.  That's just the way it was; my parents did not know any better.  This is what they knew and what they wanted to provide for us.In support of my parents, however, they did what was best for me and my siblings and worked very hard to provide for us.  I will be eternally grateful for all of their hard work and dedication to our family.  My parents taught me that family is important and that our Irish family heritage is forever.  I have made several trips to Ireland and absolutely adore the Irish people.  The Irish people are warm, welcoming and hard workers.  Irish music and dance are at the heart of our culture.   

Growing up in this environment did allow me to become very fond of my Irish roots, however, we were constantly exposed to our Irish heritage, traditions, culture (Irish music and dance), stories - oh the Irish are great storytellers.  This upbringing did not, however, allow me to fully discover myself until I began working in an academic institution 21 years ago.  I always LOVED school.  It is ironic that I have been blessed to work in higher education. Through this journey, my identity has been transformed into something I am very proud of.  I have had the opportunities to become well-versed and indoctrinated into many cultures of the world.  However, I am still unsure of myself when I speak.

At work, I hold a very important position so I am serious but sometimes funny.  I have learned and am still learning how to articulate what I want to say.  This has been a struggle for me my whole life.  While I am smart, I have trouble saying what I mean and getting my point across.  People at work might think I am a pushover, since I speak only when I am certain and sometimes speak when I should not just to include myself in a conversation.  People identify me as a hard worker and someone who can get the job done and done well.  I do need to slow down somehow so I can plan more, which is critical in my new role as Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor for Digital and Internal Communications.

When I am with friends, I am casual and fun, but because I work so much, I have little to contribute with friends who don't work or have much more money than me.  This is very common.  However, my friends are Jewish, Catholic, Irish, Italian, gay, black, etc.  We do embrace each other's differences.

Celebrating cultural diversity at work should be considered a cautious exercise.  Cultural diversity should be embraced and be a part of a formal diversity training program.  I think you can joke around with friends who are culturally diverse but at work, that would not be acceptable.  We must be sensitive to others' cultures and acceptable norms.

Global Diversity Experiences

I have been very fortunate to work in an academic institution where the chances of working with people from diverse cultural, religious and global backgrounds are possible.  However, Diversity in this day and age is more than the color of our skin, our heritage, our customs, and our religious beliefs.  Diversity now encompasses gender, thought, age, etc.  And because we live in the United States, our individualistic way of doing business could be seen as quite confusing for those who work with us from different countries, religions and cultures.

I have a gentleman who is from India who works for me and is trying his best to assimilate to the western way of doing business.  I have been lucky enough to have been trained in diversity training and exposed to different schools of thought prior to this individual working for me.  I have learned to accept, listen and then react when people speak with me from disparate cultures and ages.  We truly live in a diverse world and being open to everyone's thoughts is becoming more the norm in our individualistic style.  While we all (Americans) strive to be our best selves, we are also learning how to be our best groups, i.e., like the Japanese.  Well, at least I am.  Perhaps I am lucky enough to have learned and lived the Japanese culture, which has truly enabled me to marry my western culture with the ancient culture of the Japanese. I treat everything I do with "thought" before I make a decision.

If there is one thing I know about the Japanese, they want to be the best at everything they do.  Anything another culture can do, the Japanese can do better.  Why? Because they insist on being perfect.  The way in which the Japanese present their business cards is strictly enforced and highly encouraged from visitors.

Japanese Business Etiquette

"In Japan, the ability to perfectly imitate - and even improve upon - the cocktails, cuisine and couture of foreign cultures isn't limited to American products; there are spectacular French chefs and masterful Neapolitan pizzailoi who are actually Japanese.  There's something about he perspective of the Japanese that allows them to hone in on the essential elements of foreign cultures and then perfectly recreate them at home.  What we see in Japan, in a wide range of pursuits, is a focus on mastery."