I would be more than happy to provide those two examples. Just remember that my two experiences are specific to my life and journey so you will have to think hard about the two experiences that you would like to use or highlight.
In the first instance, before I migrated to the U.S, I always thought that there was a culture of 'freeness' - meaning, that there was plenty of things just being given away. The reality is that there are free items, yes but there are also requirements that need to be fulfilled before you get that 'free' item. What I never stopped to consider prior to my migration was the fact that the U.S played host to a variety of cultures that had been amalgamated to form what is thought of as American Culture. That there were different elements that helped to make up what was projected in the advertisements that I viewed on cable prior to my migration.
In the second instance, I was witness to a situation where someone I knew closely was arrested for alleged child abuse. It turned out that the child was only spanked but decided to get the parent in trouble for the spanking and thus the entire debacle that went down. What caused the paradigm shift in this instance was the way in which the CPS and Police were quick to assume that the parent was abusing the child and did very little investigation. The charges against my friend were all dropped and her children returned to her care. What shocked me the most, and helped me to realize that in these instances these agencies presume guilt and then worry about proving innocence. I was always told and had always heard that you were 'innocent until proven guilty' but in the instance of my friend, she was presumed guilty until she could prove her innocence.
What you need to keep in mind as a student answering this type of question is that in using these experiences that have shaped your perception of the world around you, it gives you a chance to explore what helps make you the person that you are and that will always translate to in-depth and knowledgeable writing on assignments like these.
I would be happy to provide a couple of examples. Bear in mind, of course, that these are my examples—you will have to come up with your own to complete the assignment! However, I hope that the stories I share help you answer the question on your own. As you read my examples, keep an eye out for several key features:
A clear comparison of the differences in my beliefs before and after the experience
A succinct description of the event that changed my mind and how it affected me in the moment
The rough time frame over which I held the old and new beliefs and indications of when the change occurred
A respect for others who may hold different paradigms of belief
My first major example is religious. To reiterate, I am sharing my own beliefs, not what I think others should believe. If you decide to share a similar example, I recommend keeping your description matter-of-fact to avoid the appearance of proselytization.
As a young teen, I held a deep belief in the collective unconscious. While I did not believe in any particular deity, I held the firm conviction that supernatural beliefs had to come from somewhere and that superstition and worship were an essential part of being a complete person.
Then, in high school, I took a class on comparative religion. My teacher shared sociological theories that illustrated the practical ends religion could provide for groups, and my teacher demonstrated how evolutionary pressures could create a predisposition toward belief. I also learned about the wide scope of human religions and the many beliefs that I came to view as mutually incompatible.
Ultimately, this knowledge led me to stop identifying as a deist, and I began to call myself an atheist. I chose to focus on science, rather than spiritualism, as my primary means of understanding the world.
My second example is much less contentious but no less important. If you decide to go with something like my next case, make sure to emphasize its widespread impact on your life. Mundane examples do not have the same weight as religion, politics, and morality, so it is up to you to prove that they are substantial.
One night, my wife was worried about a nocturnal animal scurrying about on our street. I told her not to worry because skunks were harmless. She looked at me like I had grown a second head and said that it was an opossum. I lectured her on how it was obviously a skunk because it had black fur and a stripe. She angrily replied that she had lived in a neighborhood with opossums for years, and she knew exactly what they looked like.
I pointed it out. "You're telling me that that's a opossum?"
She pointed to the other end of the street. "I'm telling you that that is a opossum!" she said.
We were both right: we had a skunk and a opossum on our street, and we were talking about different things entirely.
After that, I looked back at dozens of fights I had been in with dozens of people in the past. How many of them were because we had simply talked past each other? How many occured because we were holding two different conversations without realizing it? Since that day, I have been much slower to assume that my conversational partners are clueless and much more thorough about defining terms and finding common ground before wading headfirst into a debate.
No comments:
Post a Comment