This past week’s lessons and discussions were very interesting. We focused and talked about social classes and cultural diversity. Personally, I’ve been looking forward to this topic as I have always appreciated and loved diversity in any situation. I was born and raised in Malaysia, which is a Muslim-majority country in South East Asia. Malaysia is highly diverse because back in the 90’s, it was one of the busiest trading ports in the region, with incoming ships from China, India, the Middle East, and Europe. Because of this, people often stayed on, which made Malaysia what it is today. Growing up in Malaysia, I was always surrounded by people of different color, religion, cultures, traditions, foods, etc. This made me realize and appreciate how important diversity and culture is, because there is always so much to learn from everyone.

One thing that we need to remember is that culture is so much more than just how we look and what we believe in. Cultures are created and dependent on so many other aspects, like where we live, how much we make, our level of education, our income, the people around us, and so much more. One thing that really stood out to me in this week’s lesson and discussions was how blessed I have been. I’ve always been grateful for everything that I have and all the opportunities that I’ve had in my life. My parents are converts to the Church. My mother joined the Church first before my father did. They got married in their late twenties and had 4 boys, of which I’m the third. My parents started out with nothing, as they both came from very humble beginnings. My father had paper routes and did odd jobs here and there to support himself and my mother. He finally got a job with a German company and worked really hard while he was there.

He eventually worked his way up in the company and was able to get more opportunities and responsibilities. At the pinnacle of his career with the company, he was the manager of a specific region, which included a few states. He also had to travel and be out of the country a lot because of his job. My mother stayed home to be with us and take care of us. We had a pretty comfortable life but my father was always out of the home, sometimes for a week or even a month at a time, depending on what he needed to do. This meant that we spent a lot more time with my mother, which made us significantly closer to her than my father. Despite of this, I personally never felt like my father was not around or that he did not care. I always knew without any doubt that he loved us and that he was doing his best to provide the best life that he could for us. He would try to work on his schedule as early as he can so he could be home on the weekends and whenever he was around, he always made sure that we spent quality time together as a family. He made sure that we knew he cared and that he was there for us. On top of that, he also made sure he was a good husband. He would call my mother every night if he was not home. He would also lead by example. He treated my mother like she was the queen of the house, which she was. He made sure we knew how to properly treat women, that we respected and appreciated women.

I share this because that, along with other things, shaped how our family was and how it worked, or its culture.  I always look up to my father and aspire to be like him. I always tell myself that if I can be a father and a husband like him, I would be happy and satisfied with myself. However, I would preferably have a career that would allow me to be home more so I could make sure that I was always there for my wife and my kids. Lastly, the story of the Mexican family that decided to risk it all and come here to the United States really stuck out to me. My brothers and I were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to come here for an education and for better opportunities. This motivates me to do better and to make the most of the chance I was given because so many other people have to risk losing everything just to make it out here.