Blog post #2 - Ale Andrade - Expanding worldview

 My worldview has been shaped and molded through many different things. Firstly, I lived my entire life in the same area, so the views of the people around me have obviously played a part in my beliefs and overall world view. Secondly, my worldview has been influenced by the international school I attended for the first 12 years of my academic career. In this school, there was much greater diversity than there was in the average school. I spent the first 12 years of life interacting with all kinds of people, which really contributed to my broad worldview. Thirdly, social media usage has led to changes in my worldview, as it is another way to interact with different people and places. Lastly, my worldview has been shaped by travel. I’m lucky to have had the opportunity to travel to 40 countries across 6 continents (I just need to go to Oceania to get all 7). I’m a pretty experienced traveler, and tend to go on trips that consist of a lot of cultural immersion. As a result, I have interacted with a diverse range of people, many of which I never would have interacted with if I didn’t travel. 

    In terms of limitations, my worldview is limited by what I don’t know/haven’t seen. For example; I’ve never been to the continent of Oceania, I haven’t met many people from there, and I don’t get much online content coming from or discussing the continent. As a result, I obviously don’t know much about Oceania. My worldview, thus, is limited by that lack of knowledge. This lack of knowledge leaves me to build a vision of the continent based on assumptions, stereotypes, and the few data points I’ve heard. My worldview is also limited but the information I do and don’t consume, as well as the information I do and don’t want to consume. As a Spanish double major, I’ve read a lot of literature in Spanish. These pieces of literature are vessels of culture and history that have expanded my worldview regarding Spanish-speaking people. I consume that information because I have to for my major, it just so happens that while doing my classwork I’m also expanding my worldview.

    You can be intentional in expanding my worldview on this specifically by interacting with the places I’m going to as much as possible. Even walking around can expand your worldview, as you observe new things. You can also, in your interactions, make intentional choices that allow for deeper immersion in your environment. Instead of walking while looking at your phone or listening to music in your earbuds, walking around without those things can increase your views’ expansion. Making intentional choices that lead you to observe as much as possible, and interact with as many people as possible is one way you can intentionally expand your worldview on this trip. That same idea can also be applied not just to touring, but also to the course content. Paying attention, asking questions, and other forms of interaction with the course material will aid in increasing your view.