Friends

The socializing agent that has changed me the most is probably my peer group. I grew up as a really quiet kid, all through kindergarten and elementary school. I was one of those few "awkward kids" that had maybe one or two friends. We were those stereotypical weirdos that always got picked last in gym class as the team captains narrowed the pool of kids down one by one.

The biggest change in my peer group occurred when I entered middle school. We had two elementary schools feed into this school, so I only recognized half the kids on the first day of school. This was my chance to turn a new leaf, and that's what I [somewhat] did. I found myself with a new circle of friends, and I started to get socialized by them. Awkward Austin became Not-As-Bad Austin as I started to use instant messengers, hang out with friends, and learn how to speak my mind. I also became more interested in sports.

Of course, it wasn't a complete change in mindset/behavior. I still remained silent in class(heh..) and sat like a sponge absorbing information. I also preferred to stay within my circle of friends, not experimenting out of my safety zone. (Girls were scary)

If my group of friends didn't change after elementary school, there definitely would be a different Austin than there is now. For one thing, I wouldn't be a gymnast. Although my older brother played a big role in encouraging me to join my freshman year, my friends were the ones that actually got me to join and try my hardest. This wasn't because they also encouraged me; instead, they told me I wasn't strong enough and that I would never make it through the season. I love a good challenge.

American Culture

After this past week, I'm really seeing that Americans do have a distinct culture that differs greatly from the rest of the world. After reading/hearing the criticism Stefan Schirmer had about American culture and and watching Oprah's journey through Denmark, I'm realizing that Americans aren't all that special. In fact, I'm starting to want to live somewhere else!

I noticed that American consumerism is ridiculous. We buy so much at once, so we can satisfy our long term needs. Why is this? Because as Americans, we strive to be efficient. We want to do everything as fast as possible so that we can spend more time moving ourselves forward in our naturally competitive lives. One way we rank ourselves as being "successful" is by how much money we earn. However, we're always buying into the newest technology and products to stay in line with the rest of American society. What's the point in trying to earn more money if we're just going to spend it all on goods we don't need? A penny saved is a penny earned.

Now that I've put some thought into it, I believe Americans are too ethnocentric. We believe in "equality", where everyone is created equal and has equal opportunity. But with that, we also believe that everyone should act the same way, and not just any way, but the American way. We don't exactly work together too much either. Being in an extremely competitive environment, Americans have a tendency to try to push themselves forward in life. Unless there's some sort of partnership or grouping between individuals, I think Americans are naturally selfish in the thought of bettering their own position.

But I don't want to be too critical about American flaws. The US is a much better place to live than many other parts of the world, and every culture will have its own "flaws" that outsiders won't agree with. I enjoy living in an American society, and I'm very thankful of the opportunities that come with this lifestyle.