Blog Post #2-Cass Wheatley- Expanding Worldview
Growing up, I hated wearing my elementary school uniforms. I looked at them with contempt each day as I put on the dreadfully boring collared shirts and khaki skirts, trying my best to make them better with a colorful bow in my hair. It wasn’t until I started regularly volunteering at the Children’s Closet in Fort Worth that I truly understood and appreciated their purpose. The Children’s Closet is an organization that distributes school uniforms to students in FWISD schools who can’t afford them. Their mission is to help these kids succeed by ensuring they attend school each day with pride and the security of knowing that they are dressed just as their classmates. As I now realize that school uniforms are meant to promote equality among less privileged students, my perspective on them has changed. This is just one example from my life of an experience that has broadened my worldview and given perspective to a previously close-minded belief.
Over time, I have learned that those experiences are the most valuable ones. Whether I am on a family vacation learning about the rich cultural history of Europe, volunteering with my church for local causes, meeting kids at TCU from around the world, or simply talking to my grandparents about their experiences in a less-globalized world, I am learning from others and gaining new perspectives on the issues that I read about in the news.
In the previous blog post, we discussed the importance of staying informed and educating yourself on current events. I believe that in order to become a responsible global citizen, we should also strive to observe and understand the backgrounds, belief systems, and lifestyles of others. Now, I pay close attention to the culture and ways of life of different groupseverywhere I go, because this context is also crucial for understanding the social, economic, and political structures that they live in. Despite living in the same 5-mile radius around TCU for my entire life, I am determined to gain a deeper understanding of other cultures, expand my worldview, and continue to have experiences like volunteering at the children's closet that force me to view things through a different lens.
Hard-hitting experiences such as volunteering or traveling abroad really put our lives into perspective. We often view our lives as the standard, average experience. Seeing disparities in human lives not only makes us feel a responsibility to improve conditions, but also makes us more thankful for what we have. This increase in our positivity for our own lifestyles can contribute to sustainability by decreasing our desire for material goods.
ReplyDeleteThe school uniform debate is an example of an issue that shows how differing perspectives that are entirely justified and rational can cause disagreement. It reveals that the needs of others can feel foreign to ourselves, even if they are crucial to others' well-being.
Cass, I love how reflective you are about your initial hatred for school uniforms until you volunteered and saw that school uniforms are actually a blessing and give way to equality and there are kids that don't have enough money to get a school uniform. Volunteering is an amazing way to really see the bigger picture and get a better perspective about how others live. It's also a great gratitude exercise and it allows you to serve others without capitalizing on it. I agree that in order to be a better global citizen, we should educate ourselves on all different kinds of cultures, people, and lifestyles. I truly enjoyed reading your blog!
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