Here’s to the future

By AMINA MAMATY

Updated: January 13, 2013, 4:57 PM

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Who thought they’d never see the day? Yes, we survived the end of the world and here we are, on to a New Year, and therefore, another semester full of adventures. I know some of us came back to school dragging their feet, especially after spending three awesome weeks at home in Paris, but there is nothing a Laker can’t handle. School would be quite boring if we didn’t have anything to look forward to when coming back from vacations.

I personally looked forward to my classes, and one in particular – my Intercultural Competence course (ITC 100). I have had classes related to diversity and culture in the past and realized the very first day that it wasn’t going to be what I imagined. This time, I hit the jackpot. First of all, I was surprised in a good way that all these students were actually interested in the course, For once, I was actually excited to introduce myself to my mates. Usually, the only international student in my classes, I thought that I could bring a lot to discussions.

Second of all, as the teacher was asking a lot of questions regarding different cultures, I realized that, in all humbleness, I knew less than half of these people about the different cultures surrounding us. I was quite impressed and felt like I need to step my cultural awareness up. I found it great that we have these types of courses at GVSU and I wish they would be more advertised. It is always interesting and useful to get some knowledge on the unknown, because it also makes us reflect on ourselves. We should always see ourselves through our own critical eyes, in order to grow in our society and accept what we call “different.” There is truly everything on this campus to get some type of cultural appreciation. It is the only thing we should all strive for, but it should however be a part of our lives.

It definitely is a class worth waking up at 8:30 a.m. for, and Lord knows I am not a morning person. I’ve never been so excited to learn, and I recommend everyone to sign up for the course. I hope you all found your favorite class to and had a great welcome back week!

On your mark, get set, ready, LEARN!
amamaty@lanthorn.com

Published January 13, 2013 in Global Perspectives