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Citations

Aslan, A. (n.d.). Doi: 10.24205/03276716.2020.2079 828 the effect of social … Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://www.revistaclinicapsicologica.com/data-cms/articles/20210225011942pmSSCI-552.pdf

Bail, C. A., Argyle, L. P., Brown, T. W., Bumpus, J. P., Chen, H., Hunzaker, M. B. F., Lee, J., Mann, M., Merhout, F., & Volfovsky, A. (2018). Exposure to opposing views on social media can increase political polarization. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115(37), 9216–9221. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26531294Beukes, S. (2017). An Exploration of the Role of Twitter in the Discourse Around Race in South Africa: Using the #Feesmustfall Movement as a Pivot for Discussion. In U. U. Frömming, S. Köhn, S. Fox, & M. Terry (Eds.), Digital Environments: Ethnographic Perspectives Across Global Online and Offline Spaces (pp. 195–210). Transcript Verlag. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1xxrxw.16Bradshaw, S., & Howard, P. N. (2018). THE GLOBAL ORGANIZATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGNS. Journal of International Affairs, 71(1.5), 23–32. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26508115

Carlisle, J. E., & Patton, R. C. (2013). Is Social Media Changing How We Understand Political Engagement? An Analysis of Facebook and the 2008 Presidential Election. Political Research Quarterly, 66(4), 883–895. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23612065Crain, M., & Nadler, A. (2019). Political Manipulation and Internet Advertising Infrastructure. Journal of Information Policy, 9, 370–410. https://doi.org/10.5325/jinfopoli.9.2019.0370Ferrer Lozano, S. P. (2021). A New Tool for Mobilization? The Effects of Social Media Use on Youth Voter Turnout. https://escholarship.org/content/qt2vz0m7k8/qt2vz0m7k8.pdf

Falck, O., Gold, R., & Heblich, S. (2014). E-lections: Voting Behavior and the Internet. The American Economic Review, 104(7), 2238–2265. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42920885Gillespie, A., & Brown, N. E. (2019). #BlackGirlMagic Demystified: Black Women as Voters, Partisans and Political Actors. Phylon (1960-), 56(2), 37–58. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26855823

Hentges, S. (2016). Toward #SocialJustice: Creating Social Media Community in Live and Online Classrooms. Transformations: The Journal of Inclusive Scholarship and Pedagogy, 26(2), 230–238. https://doi.org/10.5325/trajincschped.26.2.0230

Hunter, J. D., & Caraway, H. J. (2014). Urban Youth Use Twitter to Transform Learning and Engagement. The English Journal, 103(4), 76–82. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24484224

Kelleher, E., & Castro, M. (2019). College Voter Turnout. https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/about.illinoisstate.edu/dist/e/34/files/2019/09/kelleherfinal.pdf

Litschka, M. (2019). The Political Economy of Media Capabilities: The Capability Approach in Media Policy. Journal of Information Policy, 9, 63–94. https://doi.org/10.5325/jinfopoli.9.2019.0063Markoff, J. (2012). Social Networks Can Affect Voter Turnout, Study Says. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/us/politics/social-networks-affect-voter-turnout-study-finds.html

Moore, H., & Hinckle, M. (2020). Social Media’s Impact on the 2020 Presidential Election: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. https://research.umd.edu/news/news_story.php?id=13541

Procaccia, A. (2020). Opinion: Social media may have contributed to record voter turnout in the 2020 election. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/27/social-media-probably-contributed-record-voter-turnout-2020-election/

Spierings, N., & Jacobs, K. (2014). Getting Personal? The Impact of Social Media on Preferential Voting. Political Behavior, 36(1), 215–234. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43653399Toni G.L.A. van der Meer, Dave Gelders, & Sabine Rotthier. (2014). e-Democracy: Exploring the Current Stage of e-Government. Journal of Information Policy, 4, 489–506. https://doi.org/10.5325/jinfopoli.4.2014.0489Watkins, S. C., & Emerson, R. A. (2000). Feminist Media Criticism and Feminist Media Practices. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 571, 151–166. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1049140YERLİKAYA, T., & ASLAN, S. T. (2020). Social Media and Fake News in the Post-Truth Era: The Manipulation of Politics in the Election Process. Insight Turkey, 22(2), 177–196. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26918129

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Admission Essay

My name is Fahad Alajlan, and I am from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I am to the prestigious Northridge University in order to gain admission and study at the masters level. I hope to pursue a course in engineering management so that I can fulfill my career objectives. I have learnt quite a lot about this university mostly from my friends, who are alumni of Northridge University. They all have praises for the university, and how it moulds an individual to be the best that they can ever be. I want to be associated with this great university so that I can pursue my engineering education.

Spending most of my life in Saudi Arabia made me see how the country has developed in such a short time. There are many modern skyscrapers, roads, as well as other infrastructure, and I wanted to among the individuals responsible for such developments. While at Saudi Arabia, I undertook my undergraduate degree in engineering at King Saud University. I later on worked at my family’s company, and now I want to expand my career path. The United States has better universities that can provide me the educational endeavors that I seek. It is thus the reason why I choose to study at Northridge University.

My fortunate undergraduate education was marked by an exceptional grade point average. I ensured that I would maintain the best possible GPA that would ensure that I graduate with utmost honors. Since I want to join graduate school, I will ensure that I improve my performance as I will devote all my attention and thoughts into succeeding in my chosen course, which is engineering management. Early on during my studies, I found out that engineering was a subject that I would excel in since I have a natural inclination towards it. Furthermore, working in my family’s company, which deals with engineering related issues made me more informed about the career choice that I had chosen.

Northridge University comes to the very top of all my priorities since it is a known and well-established university in America, as well as the rest of the world. Concerning engineering, the university successfully provides students with research programs. Furthermore, the environment at the university is impeccable and the reason I want to pursue my engineering masters in the university. I know quite well that any individual who wants to excel as well as obtain engineering knowledge has to be in a competitive and challenging learning environment. This will stimulate an individual to realize their goals in life effectively. I want to travel all the way to America from Saudi Arabia because I am sure that Northridge is the best place to secure an education.

In the future, I want to obtain a doctorate degree in engineering management, and the knowledge I will have obtained will be useful in my engineering career. I am extremely eager and excited to increase my knowledge in this unique field, and later on, engage in engineering research. I am excited because Northridge will provide me with the needed foundation in my career path. Furthermore, I hope that I will improve through always staying abreast with matters that concern engineering at the prestigious Northridge University. I am sure that by choosing to study at this university I will become a well-rounded individual. I therefore, hope that you give me the chance to study at Northridge University.

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My Name

Sierra is a name with Spanish origin which means “saw” in English and “mountain” in Spanish. The name, however, has been used in the description of the mountain ranges because of the saw tooth appearances that exist on the picks. Sierra Nevada and Sierra Madre are good examples of the mountain ranges. It’s a name that relates to the sun rise. The beam of sun rays we see in the morning as the sun rises from the mountain peaks. Sierra for sweet and friendly, a name that matches my personality.

Sierra is a name for brown color. A color that can blend with so many other colors as one can never go wrong with brown if they use it. It is a name that my mother gave me as one of her wishes was to name a child Sierra because Sierra Boggess, celebrated American Actress was one of her favorite actresses. A name I now hold with pride as it defines who I am. The name gives me an identity that is quite unique around. A name that oozes with lots of confidence and self-love for oneself, the two qualities I need as a woman to go far. My mother often says her desire to name me Sierra was associated with the sunrise from the mountains. It was a ray of hope just as we see the sun rise in the morning.

Si, the nickname a few friends have adopted. It makes it easier for them which is also a cute nickname. The sound of my name is that of class. Just by the pronunciation, you can feel the strength it bears on one’s mouth. At school most of my friends actually love my name with several already borrowing the idea to use the name on their future children. At no point in my life have I encountered a human in my life who was not happy with my name. The name gives me an identity that is quite unique around. A name that oozes with lots of confidence and self-love for oneself, the two qualities I need as a woman to go far.

I would never want to change my name. This is one thing that gives me an identity. If a Sierra is called out I stand out confidently without hesitating. It’s a cute name that has a cute story, yet a powerful message on its origin. My name has not really earned me any favors or different treatment, only thing is compliment from most friends as well as strangers who find my name intriguing. The best feeling in the world would be getting good compliments about one’s self, and this case applies to my name. Any positive comment made on my name has helped me build my self-esteem and love for myself.

Cite and release outline

Introduction

It is a directive issued by law enforcement to issue quotations, tickets, and notices for certain minor offenses rather than arrests.

Permissible but not required under current state law.

One receives is summoned to come to a particular venue to pay the fine.

A warning is provided.

Texas came up with this initiative almost one decade ago.

The accused are put on summons.

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Cities

The late nineteenth century showed a marked change in the social geography of cities. Before that, most Americans lived in rural areas where they mainly practiced farming. Between the year 1865 and the early twentieth century, the country experienced one of the most significant immigration in history. About twenty-five million people moved into the United States with the majority of them coming from Europe (Mauk & Oakland). Most of these immigrants settled in the cities, further swelling the numbers. At the start of the twentieth century, the country had more people living in urban areas than in rural areas. The Industrial Revolution is the main reason for mass migration into the cities.

Many people moved to the cities in search of employment opportunities to be found in industries concentrated in urban areas. Some of the industries at the time included the clothing industry powered by the cotton gin, locomotives steamboats, and the telegraphs. Technology also grew fast at that time, leading to rapid growth in the telephone, automobile, and assembly industries. The city thus promised a life of prosperity compared to farming in rural areas. Many people found a steady job in the newly mechanized industries and thus they could afford to fend for their families. The wealthy also set up businesses and homes in the cities. Aside from the financial gains that came with moving to the cities, there was also a lot of diversity and vibrant life. Many of those living in the cities were immigrants from other countries and regions; hence, the cities became a melting point of cultures. People could meet to experience different cultures and activities foreign to them.

Despite the rosy picture that urban life presented to many Americans, there were many challenges in the cities. The poor and the rich lived very different lives, starting from the neighborhoods, social amenities, security, among others. New York City was the largest American city, with a population of roughly three million people at the end of the nineteenth century. The city had many activities, such as industries, finance, trade, and shipping. The very wealthy set up their homes in neighborhoods such as Fifth Avenue, while the poor thronged the Lower East Side (Mauk & Oakland). Conditions in the poverty-stricken neighborhood were appalling, with poor sanitation, lack of clean water, tiny rooms, and inadequate garbage disposal. The situation was the same in the poor neighborhood of the Near West Side in Chicago, the second-largest city after New York.

The mob bosses were the leaders of organized crime in the cities. They led gangs that terrorized the cities’ residents, and some of them enjoyed protection from the politicians and the wealthy in society. The cult of domesticity refers to the notion that women were meant to be homemakers while the men were the breadwinners. This idea developed in the nineteenth century, where the women had little say outside of the home and the family. Some of the principles underlying this cult of domesticity include submissiveness, piety, domesticity, and purity. Studies into life in nineteenth-century America are quite intriguing and led to many reforms in the social, economic, and political spheres to make the country what it is today.

Works Cited

Mauk, David, and John Oakland. American civilization: an introduction. Routledge, 2017.

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My native language English

In the past we have had some languages gaining good number of speakers while same, the number of speakers reduce. My native language is English. I have known and spoken English till birth and all my lessons I take in English. There are about 335 million people speaking English globally. This is great number and constitutes more than 7% of the entire world.

It has been funny people from different accents speaking in English. I have watched different international meetings where for example Chinse tries to communicate in English. It is funny, it is laughable, it is comic. The way he pronounces the words, plus the word connections makes it very clear that he is not a native speaker of English. I can say that is fun but people have to tolerate international speakers since they are not the native speakers.

I have been in situations where people speak a language I do not understand. Some scenarios can be categorized as bad. Finding myself between Chinese, then they start speaking in their own language was not a good scene for me. The scene was demoralizing and confusing.

Global relations are very essential for better understanding of other people with cultural diversity. This goes to include being reliable in communicating with people of other cultures. At the organizational level this is very important because it allows individuals from diverse cultures to work together for achievement of a common objective. This necessitates that the individual at the organizational level and the organization as a whole develop a particular model for gathering the skills needed to overcome and deal with all the challenges that come with cultural diversity.it also through the global relations that people from other nations are able to work in other countries.

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My native language

My native language is Arabic. According to the statistics of 2007, globally, about 280 Million people speak Arabic. This constitutes 4.23% of the world population by then. It can be noted that the language has spread to other nations. Nowadays, even other nations do teach Arabic and have it in their curriculums. One factor that has resulted to rapid speared is that its Islamic language and wherever Islam is, they normally speak Arabic. The intermarriage, intercultural, and globalisation has also spread the Arabic language speakers to other nations and territories.

It is funny when other people from other nations speak Arabic. The accent quickly notifies one that he is not Arabic and has just learned the language. What makes the difference is the pronouncing and the speed. International speakers know the sequence of words, and the logics of sentence formation but make pronunciation errors. At times, it is interesting listening to them. The accent not only comes with mimic, but it becomes comedic.

At one time I was corned in a place where everyone speaks their language, something I could not understand. This was when I went to an office, and as I wanted, a discussion in a foreign language took place. I felt out of place and humiliated. I was not sure if they were talking about me or their things.

The global relations have done a great deal in shaping the inter-cultural differences. The language barriers and isolations in other nations have also been bridged. The impact of globalization and the ensuing increase in multinational organizations have necessitated intermingling of people of diverse cultural origin and orientation. These coupled with the interactions at the place of work brings a special blend of challenges organizations face in the bid to achieve effectual communication within the organization amongst employees or between the organization and customers. Nowadays one feels free to travel to remote areas where he could have never gone without globalization.

Chris Cornell Suicide Case

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Chris Cornell Suicide Case

Suicide is a traumatizing and devastating incidence that lives the beloved ones of the deceased suffering from stress and other alarming questions about the act. The family and friends among other related individuals are left confused, frustrated and to an extent angry wondering what might be the cause of the suicide, why they did not see it happen and whether they had the capability of preventing it from happening. Mental illness, substance abuse and suicide history in the family are among the major known causes of suicide in the world. It is very disgusting that suicide has taken not only hearts of the people with low living standards but also the wealthy and famous people in the universe. Being rich does not mean that someone’s live run smoothly without any distractors and stressors. Regardless of being famous and having wealth, people suffer mental illness and abuse of substance among many other factors that lead to suicide. In this discussion, Chris Cornell, a famous musician suicide case is the point of interest, and it will be elaborated into an in-depth extent regarding the cause of the action and the related history.

Christopher John Boyle commonly known as Chris Cornell was the son of Ed Boyle and Karen Cornell and was born in Seattle, Washington in the United States in 1964. Chris Cornell was popularly known for his famous music productions and his act of giving back to the community through helping the needy and orphan children. He was the frontman and founder of the Soundgarden band and a vocalist for the Audioslave. Chris Cornell’s demise is believed to have been caused by suicide in his hotel room MGM Grand in Detroit after a performance with Soundgarden Fox Theatre (Berglund, 2017). He died on May 18, 2017, where he left behind his wife Vicky Karayiannis and three children Lillian Jean, Toni and Christopher Nicholas.

Chris Cornell has a history of mental illness diagnoses before committing suicide as he suffered from depression. It was in an interview where the famous rock musician revealed that he suffered depression which made him have the urge of being isolated leading to the divorce with Susan Silver at the age of early forties. Chris Cornell explained that the psychological illness is dangerous as it made him be in his world thinking that other people are the cause of stress and trouble in his life. After a while, he got into a relationship with his wife Vicky Karayiannis, and they decided to settle down and start a family. Chris Cornell struggled with the mental illness for a long time as he put extra effort into his music career which positively impacted the society and charity work which touched souls of many needy people.

The famous singer’s mental illness appear to be related to the suicidal action. Depression creates the mentality of separation from other people where one feels loathed as well as lack of belonging in the community and to a greater extent if not taken control of may result to physical harm such as suicide. The case was not different from Chris Cornell as he explained that the depression has reached to a point where he gets isolated from all his close people divorced and even changed his lively hood location to a new place (Pescara & Raleigh 2017). However, he later recovered got in a relationship, continued with music, stopped drinking and abuse of the substance. He started seeking medication to cope up with depression which was different there before when he used drugs and substance abuse to deal with the mental illness.

Before suicide, he talked to his wife Vicky after the show and told her that he might have taken an overdose of the Ativan which were prescribed to ease depression by his physician. Ativan can be referred to as a type of drug lorazepam that is applied in the treatment of seizures and anxiety. The medicine works by boosting the natural chemical in the human body hence leads to mental calmness. The insignificant and unusual side effects that Ativan cause includes slurred speech and thoughts of committing suicide, hallucination, memory problem, difficulties in walking and vision changes. The severe side effects are dangerous to human health as they result to an increment in the user’s alcohol consumption and use of painkillers for users of other drugs apart from the prescribed ones.

As a reformed drug abuser, the extra taken Ativan might have caused the severe effects on his body leading to the mentality of committing suicide. Vicky stated that his husband did not show any sign of committing suicide and she could not believe that such a thing could ever linger in Chris Cornell’s mind. Therefore, the famous musician did not portray any classic signs that he could commit suicide during and after his presentation with the Soundgarden band in the show. The most sensible question that lingers in everybody’s mind including his family and relatives is why he decided to take away his precious life. There are not family or career issues associated with the act, and the conclusion from many is that Chris Cornell did not commit the suicide under his will. On the other hand, it is somehow considering the lines of some dark songs he produced which to an extent reveals that he had an idea towards his death. For instance, the one that says that do not carry over his death, but what he wants is to take him home (Strähle & Jahne-Warrior 2018).

The act of taking an overdose of the prescribed Ativan drugs is believed to be the primary cause of Chris Cornell’s suicide even though there is no evidence whether he had used other substance on top. Drugs are fundamental to peoples’ health as well as sensitive when it comes to following the simple rules of the prescriber. Ignorance can cost a lot as many people tend to console their souls that taking an overdose will assist in relieving the pain faster which is not always the case. The death of Chris Cornell was disgusting and left many souls mourning as he was such a productive and active member of the community loved by many. No one knows how the side effects of the extra Ativan which Chris Cornell took as it might have caused depression result in the thoughts of committing suicide as suggested by the autopsy.

The major life stressors that may have contributed to the suicide of Chris Cornell are depression and abuse of the substance. Depression is a threat to the well-being of many people in the world as the victims all the time see the negativity in their lives and the most probably action after this are harmful to human health. Many tend to relieve the depression through the use of drugs either prescribed by qualified professionals or through the abuse of substances such as alcohol and cannabis among many others. The case of Chris Cornell is contradictory as the investigators have not revealed a confirmatory that he committed suicide and whether he was under the influence of Ativan or had abuse any other substance. The stress event in his life such as divorce by his first wife Susan Silver and the instance when he felt a sense of not belonging in the community may also, on the other hand, played a part in developing the mental illness that lastly resulted to his death (Drum, et.al 2017).

The family of Chris Cornell does not believe to have the history of suicide or mental illness. Therefore, there is the urgency of explicitly determining the factors the led to suicide one cannot just conclude that it is a family based matter. Can he be the one to pass the devastating action to the future generation? It is an alarming question even though such beliefs are custom and may not apply in the real-life situations. The demise of Cornell cannot be judged whether it is from family issues or not without the precise results of the toxicology test to determine whether abuse of substance caused his death. Even though he was found on the bathroom floor with a band on his neck, there was no clear evidence of what caused the decease.

According to the discussion above, it is clear that suicide hurt many and causes psychological effects to the community regarding the case of Chris Cornell demise. Therefore, it is the role of very civilian to take part in fighting mental illness such as depression and substance abuse as well as other factors are known to contribute to causing suicide. The loss of legends and productive people in the community does affect not only the family and friends but also the society at large.

References

Berglund, J. (2017). Imaging Depression: New Biological Markers May Mean More Targeted Treatments are Just over the Horizon. IEEE pulse, 8(6), 19-22.

Drum, D. J., Brownson, C., Hess, E. A., Burton Denmark, A., & Talley, A. E. (2017). College students’ sense of coherence and connectedness as predictors of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Archives of suicide research, 21(1), 169-184.

Pescara-Kovach, L., & Raleigh, M. J. (2017). The Contagion Effect as it Relates to Public Mass Shootings and Suicides. The Journal of Campus Behavioral Intervention, 35.

Strähle, J., & Jahne-Warrior, N. (2018). Case study: grunge music and grunge style. In Fashion & Music (pp. 51-69). Springer, Singapore.

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Christianity

Christianity is one of the religions with the highest number of believers in the world. Christianity is divided into many groups, such as Roman Catholics, Protestants, and Eastern Orthodox believers. Despite these subgroups, Christianity as a faith has some of the core values and beliefs that hold the believers together no matter which subgroup they belong to. Christianity also shares specific characteristics with other prominent religions such as Islam, Hinduism, and Taoism. An example of such beliefs is the belief in a higher power, whom Christians refer to as God. Religion is a significant part of human life because it helps people to understand and explain some life events which would otherwise be inexplicable. Faith also helps people to answer some of life’s most challenging questions, such as their purpose in life and life after death. The sacred text that forms the basis of the Christian faith is the Bible, and within it are many scriptures that inform and influence the belief system of Christianity.

One of the most significant verses from the Bible is from the gospel of John, which states that “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (New King James Version, John 3:16) In his book called ‘The World’s Religions,’ Huston Smith describes the basic tenets of the Christian faith. One of these is the Trinity, which means that God is three though He is one. The three forms of God are the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit (Smith & Marranca 301). God took the form of a human being in allowing His son Jesus Christ to be born to a woman. God sent Jesus to earth so that He could die and redeem people from their sinful ways, and the verse from John assures Christians that whoever believes in Jesus shall have everlasting life. However, those who do not believe shall perish.

The verse from the gospel of John also shows how much God loves His people, and Christians share a firm belief in God’s love and His desire for them to renounce their sinful ways. In spreading the Good News, Jesus showed love for all people, even the most sinful of them. Outcasts, enemies, and the Samaritans were all welcome in the Kingdom of God, and this assures Christian believers that no matter how much they sin, God still loves them and will take them back (Dada 89). In sending Jesus to earth, God wanted to fulfill many things. One of the things that formed a part of Jesus’ ministry is healing the sick and doing other good deeds, although He did not call attention to Himself. This is another sign of God’s love for people; He cares about all aspects of their wellbeing. Christians believe that Jesus is always there to help them out in times of trouble, and He represents God’s love for His people.

In conclusion, people hold different religious beliefs for various reasons. Christianity is one of the most popular faiths, and it is based on several core beliefs as outlined by Huston Smith in ‘The World’s Religions.’ Christians have the Bible as their sacred text, and one of the most significant verses comes from the book of John. The verse explains how much God loves His people, such that He was willing to have His son killed just to save sinners from death. All that Christians have to do to gain eternal life is to believe in Jesus. Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection form the cornerstones of the Christian faith, and it gives people hope and meaning in life.

Works Cited

Dada, Samuel Ayodele. “A pragma-stylistic analysis of John 3: 16.” International Journal of English Linguistics 2.5 (2012): 85-93.

Smith, Huston, and Richard Marranca. The world’s religions. New York: HarperOne, 2009.

Version, New King James. “Holy Bible: New King James Version.” Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson (2009).

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My Journey Towards Learning Chinese Culture

Learning represents a process of gaining new information, values, skills, preference, and attitudes through acquiring new knowledge, information, behaviors, abilities, ideals, dispositions, and inclinations. Humans, animals, and certain robots all have the potential to learn, and there is evidence that certain plants can learn as well. Some learning happens right away as a result of a single event. However, repeated experiences lead to a great deal of expertise and knowledge. Learning transforms people for a lifetime, and it’s difficult to tell the difference between taught material that appears to be “lost” and stuff that cannot be recovered. As a result of continual interactions between people and their environment, human learning and learning begins at birth and continues until death. Educational psychology, neuropsychology, behavioral sciences, and pedagogy are among the areas that study the origins and processes of learning. Various types of learning have been identified as a result of research in these disciplines. Learning can occur as a result of mental conditioning, habituation, classical, operant conditioning, or more sophisticated behaviors like play, which are only found in more intelligent species. Learning is either consciously or unconsciously. When individuals discover that they cannot prevent or escape an unpleasant situation, they may develop a condition known as learned helplessness. Habituation has been found as early as 32 weeks into pregnancy, showing that the central nervous system is adequately formed and primed for memory and learning to occur early in development.

Culture represents an essential aspect in the life of an individual as it gives them identity. As humans, we can learn about other people’s cultures and learn to speak a foreign language easily. People can get a better knowledge of their own culture through dealing with people from different cultures. Learning a foreign language boosts one’s ingenuity. Graduates frequently cite foreign language classes as some of the most important courses in college because of the effective communication gained. Being an individual student in a foreign country presents a person with different challenges daily, and the primary amongst them is cultural shock. Cultural shock happens when an individual is exposed to a foreign language for the first time and requires first learning abilities in order to figure how to live within the foreign society.

In the process of learning, I was given an opportunity to visit a stay and school in China as part of a cultural diversification program. The whole cultural diversification program was scheduled to take a duration of two years and was fully sponsored by the government. My biggest role in the program was to live and learn in China for two years. On arrival, I was welcomed by the foster parents who had volunteered to let me live within their family for the whole duration. Walking down the airplane staircase, I was joyed to see a couple of Chinese descent holding a placard bearing my name and the “Welcome to China. We Love You”. The Chinese and American difference in culture is well documented, and on greeting the couples, that was the first time learning firsthand of the difference. As Americans, it is our principle not to hug a person we are meeting for the first time due to their personal reasons that might be unknown to us and promote courtesy or even to showcase a high level of professionalism which forms the bedrock of our society. As usual, I was quick to offer my hand and prepared by posture stability in anticipation of a warm welcome from the couple, starting with the man. I was pulling my briefcase; therefore, my left hand was still holding the briefcase handle, clearly indicating the inability to comprehend what was about to occur. Rather than shaking my hand, the short well build man opted to hug me firmly and went ahead to lift me from the ground, I was taller than him, but he was more masculine; within seconds, I was swinging my legs helplessly midair and my face was too high and swung further behind the man’s back, for a minute he struggles to recapture his center of gravity, and we almost toppled. My mind was still healing from the escapade when the mother rained three kisses on my chicks.

It was not long before I realized that their level of speaking English was at the basic level, which was much better than my zero levels of speaking and understating the Chinese dialect; that is when I decided to brace myself for ore rude cultural shocks. On arrival at the home, the house and the compound were fully packed, and I should be forgiven for thinking that the people’s presents were only due to my welcoming ceremony. It took me three days to understand that everyone in the compound was actually at home. At school, I manage to make few friends on the first day.

To cut the story short, my journey towards learning the Chinese language and culture began when I set my foot in the jet to China. My first days in school and at home were similar as they were all marred with hardship and more confusion. But with time, I became more in fast-tracking my learning process and ensuring I understood the Chinese language and culture. Knowing that the classroom will only offer basic, I became more interested in crashing into Chinese cultural festivals even without an invitation. I became more outgoing and never missed parties and hiking ceremonies organized by fellow students.

I also became too curious that some of the friends I had made began to avoid me as I plagued their memories with varied questions of varied types and nature. After noticing, I decided to up my game and found a Chinese girlfriend. I should say that these Chinese girls love differently, but that is a story for another day. All the techniques I employed especially deciding to date a Chinese girlfriend, play an essential role in my learning and acquiring knowledge and skills regarding the Chinese culture. As we speak, I am well versed with the Chinese dialect and culture, and I credit the international cultural exchange programs and my attitude towards learning the culture.

Work Cited

Fickel, Letitia Hochstrasser, Christine Henderson, and Gaylene Price. “Language, culture, and identity at the nexus of professional learning.” Educational Research 59.4 (2017): 391-407.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00131881.2017.1373029. Accessed on 12th September 2021.