Reflection 2

While I understand the concept, this is the first time that I've heard the term multicultural awareness/ consciousness. I think that pretty much everyone would label themselves as multiculturally aware even if they really aren't mainly because they don't fully understand the concept. Being quick to label yourself as though you are could really hinder you actually becoming so. Its important to admit that you do have some work to go so that you can make the necessary transformations. I would say those who need a renovation are those who have been 'burned' so to speak by a member of a culture. If a member of a specific group cuts you off in traffic you can't get mad at everyone of that group and label them all as bad driver. You have to restore yourself to a point where you had no hard feelings towards anyone. Someone may need an alteration if they don't understand a culture; you can take the bad ideas they once had about a culture and create newer, more positive views. A makeover can also be used in the same situation where there are deeper issues. A revolution occurs when there's a abrupt change in something. If all your life you thought all people on welfare are lazy but something happens and you're forced to receive government assistance you're going to have a revolution and realize that your previous thought was extremely wrong. Conversion/ recovery can occur in someone who was raised as a racist but then discovers all that they've been taught is just plain ignorance. They will most likely have to work to recover from the years of damage that have been done to their psyche. In order to reinvent yourself, you first have to change your self-concepts and raise y your self-esteem. Your self-concept is how your see yourself in relation to everything else in the world. Self-concept can be changed y certain experience and even by other people who have an influence on you. Self-esteem is how you respect and value yourself. Its also important to accept and embrace human differences. In order to do that we must me tolerant, accepting, and compassionate. To be tolerant we must resist the urge to judge others and be self-serving. Acceptance involves being at peace with your surroundings; you have to understand that there are somethings in life that we cannot change. Compassion is acting to alleviate the pain we see others feel. When we act to help others we actually are helping our self in more ways than we know.