Exploring Culture Essay Reflections

In the past, exploring various types of culture is one activity that I had very little thought
of attempting to do. The community I resided in growing up had very little cultural diversity, due
to the overall lack of a wide ranging population within my home community. Therefore, when I
was tasked with conducting research and interviews for a culture, I had a wide array of cultures
to choose from that I had little to no knowledge about prior to this project. After pondering upon
which culture to conduct the research, I eventually decided on Islam and to study its beliefs and
followers.
To ensure that the essay was well rounded in the information that it presented, several
methods and resources were utilized. The primary source of research however was face to face
interviews. To be certain that I obtained these interviews from individuals that were
knowledgeable and devout members of the culture itself, I interviewed three individuals at
mosque here in the local community. Now while I did heavily research this topic personally for
this essay, these firsthand accounts were indispensable in well endowing myself within the
culture. They not only provided an in depth look into the beliefs of the culture, but also a glimpse
into the daily lives of people who are a part of this culture.
When I planned the design for this particular essay, I made the decision to center the
majority of the body of information around the information that I obtained from the personal one
on one interviews. While I did indeed interview three individuals of the faith, I more so focused
the information from one main interview. This particular interview I found to be more revealing
and informative than the interviews conducted with the other two individuals.

After completing the final draft of the essay, I began to evaluate the overall effectiveness
of the piece of writing, specifically, how it conveyed the culture and faith of Islam collectively,
and how it portrayed the daily lives of the individuals who were members of the culture.
Taking a critical stance when reviewing my essay, there were some areas within the piece
of writing that could have been improved upon. The main focus of the paper tended to center
more so on the controversies, beliefs, and stigma that surrounded the culture. Now while this is
indeed helpful when explaining the fundamental concepts of the culture to someone who may
have little to no prior knowledge on the culture and its people. In hindsight, I should have put
forth more of an effort to illustrate the aspects of daily life that individuals within this culture
experience on a day to day basis. This aspect of the paper, if it was utilized properly, could have
contributed greatly to the overall effectiveness of the essay. While my essay may have noticeable
flaws within its content, I feel that overall it accomplished its purpose. The purpose of explaining
Islam in a positive and progressive manner.