According to www.dictionary.com diversity can be defined as a state of difference; dissimilitude; unlikeness. Although we may all have a lot in common, no two people are exactly alike. Everyone has something that makes them different or diverse in some way. In this project I interviewed five individuals of different cultural backgrounds than my own and gave a brief explanation of what my first impressions were and how I overcame the stereotypes I had about that particular person.
1. Rene – Rene is an 18 year old freshman at NIU. When I first meet Rene I assumed he was Asian because his eyes were slightly chinky. He later explained that his parents were from Ecuador but he was born in Tampa Bay, Florida. I asked if he were Catholic because many of the Hispanics I know are Catholic but he told me he was an Atheist.
2. Brittney – Britney is a 20 year old African American sophomore at NIU. Since she is a female I had the misconception that she loved to wear and do make up. I also thought that she probably did not enjoy sports or other physical activities. Although Britney did admit that she wears make up, she says that she does not like it as much as people think. She also happened to be a die hard Bears fan and also works out at the Rec regularly. Even though Britney proved many of judgments incorrect I was right about the fact that she loved to go shopping.
3. Abdul – Abdul is an 18 year old Afghani freshman at NIU. By just looking at Abdul I had already made some unfair assumptions. One of my first thoughts was that he was a Muslim which ended up being correct. When I first met him I was also unsure of exactly where he was from. I assumed he must have been from Iran or Iraq. He later told me that he is originally from Afghanistan. Following the September 11th attacks many Americans stereotype someone from Abdul’s country as a terrorist. After getting to Abdul a little better I learned that he has been living in America his whole life and even his parents were...