Understanding the views of individuals leads to greater perception.

Accepting
them leads to reformation. Thus, when a person is exposed to a variety of a cultures and
vast amounts of diversity, one witnesses that every individual is just another human being
with a lesson to teach.
The urban multicultural lifestyle I experienced at a young age changed quickly
when moving to a smaller town. San Diego had festivals in the down town area that
celebrated several religions and provided authentic food from different countries. The sky
scrapers, restaurants, and ships were an all time tourist attraction. Large amounts of
different people from around the world flew in from international countries daily. They
spread their ideas and knowledge like wild fire. These aspects all gave me a sense of the
world and never allowed for me to become uncomfortable with new experiences. Grants
Pass, Oregon was a rural and secluded area with a smaller population. There was a higher
rate of Caucasians then there where of any other ethnicity. It was difficult adjusting being
Hispanic and to an unaccustomed area, but I had an open mind and wanted to put myself
out there to share my ideas as well and learn from those around me.
Entering a new high school meant new experiences and friends but instead it
opened my eyes to the narrow views of a persons mind. Over time I came to see how
many individuals looked through a smaller tunnel and joked about different people they
knew little or none of. Many racial slurs from students and ignorant comments about
Jews, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans seemed to happen repeatedly in the
hallways and around the lunch tables. In class when studying about certain races and
people, students would ask

But had any of these stereotypes and blind minded people ever really known of
these different races and …. During lunches at school I would hear groups of students
talking about

I was never taught from a little girl to speak of rude and insulting about people I knew
very little of. This experience taught me that

Elementary, middle and high schools had students that made up several different
backgrounds and customs. Ali Yusuf, a former classmate was Muslim, and took his
religion very seriously. He was a shy individual but was a smart and dedicated student.
Upon entering my fourth grade classroom, Ali was kneeling upon a prayer rug Muslims
use to pray to Allah five times a day. The carpet had fancy designs and embroideries
printed on it. He prayed quietly to himself in Arabic and bowed his head repeatedly. This
early exposure to close friends of mine performing acts of religion I knew not of, only
fascinated and

If we as individuals would learn to tolerate those of different beliefs and cultural

ideas without being offended or critiquing the unusualness of what we are not
accustomed to it would lead to vast rays of reformation. It would disburden future
societal groups and generations of the