Confusion of something called "culture"

Why is it that as human beings we go through all these strange phases. Its so inticing to me to know that my past is what made me the person I am today, but is it really necessary to go through the hard ships and obsticles to learn a real lesson? Coming from a family that was once very conservative and trying to adjust to the customes of all i knew was far more than two different worlds. So many obsticles from communication and following your dreams can sometimes even be a sin. But it amazes me that I have really held on to my culture and i look back today and realize how imporatant it is to me.



I sometimes wonder if the mistakes i made as a teenager would have been prevented if I would have been more intrested in where I came from and who i was then, but i feel like i have only figured out now who i am. My culture was the last thing that i wanted to give any attention to when i was a teenager. http://www.irhosp.ae/images/dynamic/polyclinic.jpg This link is a picture of the hospital that i was born at..but i know nothing of it I am not even Arab. I grew up as your avarage teenager except my family was so stricket that rebellion was my middle name. Growing up in Seattle i knew nothing about where i came from. When i was 15 we made our first trip to Dubai( place of my birth) and India http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/HaasGlobal/Hyderabad%20006.jpg

Shocked by what i saw around me the pollution the poverty and lets not forget the ridiculous amount of corruption that even as an outsider i could see so clearly i felt that i had really found the core of my being. I was shocked but i took me months and years to put what i saw in to perspective and incorporate it into who i am. Today I am so proud of the person that I am, I realized the mistakes i made trying to discouver myself as a teenager really did define me and If it wasnt for my cultural background and beliefs I would be a very different human being and i cant see myself any other way. I am ready to learn only more and work forward, I try and incorporate from aspects from my past and my culture into every aspect of my life today and for my future. My culture is one thing that will always stay strong with me!