December 9, 2016 - 15:31
The project that Eva and I worked on as well was very interesting and enlightening. It was amazing to be able to get the opinions of other students about their taste in music and art, as well as what that reveals about their cultural identity. I was quite surprised by the outcome of our project, as I thought that we would discover that more people had a desire to search for music outside of their culture. The fact that most people stay within their comfort zones, not only when it comes to friends, as another group discussed, but also when it comes to the art and music we like, really struck me. I would like to investigate this relationship more, perhaps by talking to more people about their taste in music and their cultural background. This project really taught me the importance of cultural background when it comes to our identities. We talked a lot about invisible and perceived identity, and I think that this is connected to our project as well. What we listen to in our free time often reflects what we think our true culture is.
I also want to really see if there is a correlation between the languages a person speaks and the music they listen to. We also talked about how we form groups based on the languages we speak, so I would like to see if this holds true for the music we listen to as well.
I briefly wanted to refer to the presentation that was given on Asian-American students and how they feel like they sometimes feel uncomfortable being in groups of largely Asian students, as they feel that they do not belong. I can definitely relate. I only spent two years in elementary school in America, and the rest of my life was spent abroad, in German or International schools. However, I am an American. I have American parents and an American passport. I feel like I don't really belong in the international student group, but at the same time I don't belong in the group of American students. What I have noticed though, is that at Bryn Mawr you are more than just your identity. You are a real person, and people will love and accept you no matter where you are from, what you identify as, or what you believe. I know there are a lot of problems at Bryn Mawr, as we all discussed last night, but there is also a lot of good that is here. Don't forget the good parts of this place.