When I was a child, my favorite ride at Disney World was It’s a Small World. Guided along, with the same-titled song playing throughout, I engaged in a magical journey as each turn promised an encounter with a different country, displaying culturally diverse visuals as representative snapshots to its nationality. The unchanging melody met modified lyrics consistent with the dialect of the culture featured. Indeed, from English, to French, to Italian, to Spanish, singing in various languages play in the background. Overall, it illustrated the beauty of culture by recognizing, with distinctions noted, a commonality; we are all human beings. With this in mind, it is important to emphasize that culture arcs beyond geographical origins. By
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Like any family, there were elements of dysfunction, but on a whole, my childhood and adolescent years were filled with unconditional love, provision, and safety. Fortunately, a continuation of this positive experience of family life has followed me into adulthood, as mentioned above. I am the oldest of four girls. As such, I have always fit the stereotype of being driven, determined, and strong willed. While I would not say I grew up as within a feminist culture, there was definitely a supportive environment for my sisters and I, as females, to knock down any gender limiting doors in our way, especially through education. With my fathers profession of being a police officer, came a few significant moves for our family, across Ontario. Residing in Northern, Ontario, and Southern, Ontario, rural communities, and suburbs, each move helped me learn how to adapt to new environments, and read the new “culture” I was now living in, adapting accordingly. Even within communities of the same province, culture shifts, and that became clear to me from a young age. Faith and church have always been foundational in my life. While my parents embraced the Christian faith when I was a young child, and church was a regular part of our family routine, they never forced us to adopt the same faith. Our home was one where we were free to discover our own paths in life. For myself, I did in fact choose to follow the Christian faith and it is foundational to my personal life, as it is in my husbands, and boys. My present day home is one that fosters creativity. With a husband who is an artist, and boys who have fantastic talent for the visual arts, this a new cultural circle I have found myself in. Also new over the years, is being a part of the learning challenges culture. One of our boys has a developmental learning challenge, Auditory Processing Disorder. Throughout his journey of diagnoses and support systems, a new
Like any family, there were elements of dysfunction, but on a whole, my childhood and adolescent years were filled with unconditional love, provision, and safety. Fortunately, a continuation of this positive experience of family life has followed me into adulthood, as mentioned above. I am the oldest of four girls. As such, I have always fit the stereotype of being driven, determined, and strong willed. While I would not say I grew up as within a feminist culture, there was definitely a supportive environment for my sisters and I, as females, to knock down any gender limiting doors in our way, especially through education. With my fathers profession of being a police officer, came a few significant moves for our family, across Ontario. Residing in Northern, Ontario, and Southern, Ontario, rural communities, and suburbs, each move helped me learn how to adapt to new environments, and read the new “culture” I was now living in, adapting accordingly. Even within communities of the same province, culture shifts, and that became clear to me from a young age. Faith and church have always been foundational in my life. While my parents embraced the Christian faith when I was a young child, and church was a regular part of our family routine, they never forced us to adopt the same faith. Our home was one where we were free to discover our own paths in life. For myself, I did in fact choose to follow the Christian faith and it is foundational to my personal life, as it is in my husbands, and boys. My present day home is one that fosters creativity. With a husband who is an artist, and boys who have fantastic talent for the visual arts, this a new cultural circle I have found myself in. Also new over the years, is being a part of the learning challenges culture. One of our boys has a developmental learning challenge, Auditory Processing Disorder. Throughout his journey of diagnoses and support systems, a new