The last year of high school, I always got asked the same questions about my future. Where am I going to college? What am I studying? What do I plan on majoring in? Why Canada? Am I excited? Nervous? Well, of course I was excited, which no doubt blended with a great amount of nerves, to get out of Chelan, my small hometown in central Washington. I never experienced much of a city life growing up. Being the only 8th grader to graduate from my private school, it was quite a shock going into the public school with 100 other students in my grade. All I had ever known was the safety of my books, the quite comfort I took in my instruments, and the silent company of my pets. Shy ole me got to grow quite a bit in high school, preparing myself for the big scary move to… Canada. Now I know that people traveled half way around the world, which seems like nothing compared to my 5-hour trek. Yet to me, I feel like a I’m living on a whole new planet. At first, it was really scary. However, as I let myself fall into the rhythm of smiling faces and hand shakes, it became easier for me to adjust.
Being an international student, it was amazing seeing people from such a wide variety of cultures. So as we delve into the idea of life narratives, I looked to my surrounding to answer this probing question: How do peoples’ different cultural upbringings influence who they become? In Pakistan, the society is heavily dominated by gender roles. Women stay at the house while the men work and bring home the money. There is no need for girls to acquire an education, so they don’t. Malala, an activist for women’s education in Pakistan, set out to change those rules. Her cultural norms believed girls weren’t deserving of the same education as boys. Her quest to change those norms, and fight for what she believes in, has made her an international icon. The cultural norms of countries can be sources of pride and comfort for many, but unjust and detrimental for others. The process of living through these cultural norms can change individual’s outlooks, beliefs and character traits. By exploring these ideas, I hope to learn more about cultural influences and how they shape the spider web of people’s lives in the world today.