Dear Diary,
Culture and diversity, a rather large mouthful to say isn’t
it? I have to be honest I am both excited for this class and a little nervous.
I love learning new things, especially new things about people and cultures.
But for our first entry this week we are supposed to talk about ourselves,
which has to be my least favorite topic of all time. Mostly in part because I
find myself a rather boring subject for study. I would much rather delve into
cultures I know very little about. But I do respect the premise of getting in
touch with one’s own culture first, before exploring others. If we are to be culturally
competent as child and youth workers we
need to understand our identities first I suppose. It’s just I’m a rather
private person; I don’t think I will ever get used to sharing information about
myself (certainly not in a blog form). I’m not used to being asked really, so I’m
not used to having to talk about myself. And yet this course as a whole has
asked me to reveal a lot about myself. I’ve always considered myself a very self-aware
person. But sharing this awareness with others is a very awkward process for me,
so I hope you will bear with me.
As far as cultural identity goes, I can confidently say I
don’t really have a standard one. I could go on about how my grandfather was
part French, and my grandmother was English and that she came to Canada with my
grandfather after World War 2. But then I wouldn’t have much to write about
because that’s pretty much the gist of it. My family doesn’t have any traditions
unique to us or where our roots begin. Nor do they pass on any traditions,values or anything that might be English, French or a mark of cultural identity
at all. Fear not though I have come up with something to complete this blog on
a more positive tone. You see this lack of unity in my family is my hypothesis as
to why we are not a close family. We are a very large family, but a very
distant one. In my youth though, I did gravitate to a culture that did give me
a sense of identity. It might surprise you but it has been my experience that a
culture can be something you choose rather then something you are born into,
and that culture can be a broader perspective and span a larger distance then
country and creed. The culture I ended up identifying with and making it a
large part of me is the video gaming culture. Surprised? Perhaps not, in any
case let me try to explain as best I can why this qualifies.
The video gaming culture was introduced to me when I was
young, probably around 10 years of age, but I didn’t truly enter that world until
I was 17. I was an ‘only child', so finding ways to amuse myself occupied most
of my day. As a child I played outside a lot and read books a lot, so I loved
adventure! I didn’t have many solid friends growing up because my Mum and I
moved around a lot. So Batman, Link, Gordon Freeman, these characters became
both role models and friends. Imagination was second nature to me, so when I
discovered the possibilities with video games I was quickly hooked. When I wasn’t
playing the games I was imagining myself running through the streets of Gotham,
playing in the Kokiri forest, or dodging alien blasts while solving physic
puzzles. If any of these terms is unfamiliar to you then that brings me to my
next point about video gaming culture. Like with any culture there is slang,
code, values, ethics, language, norms, identities, crossover with other cultures,
and much more that makes you feel rather like you’re in a secret special club.
Learning the nuances of this culture comes with age and experience and is
always changing. It borrows some identities with the technological era it runs parallel
with and with the animation scene. So many individuals in this culture have to understand
those as well to stay proficient and current. I know many argue that video
games are violent and that the individuals in this culture are as well but as a
member of this community I can say that with any culture there is prejudice and
that is a topic I would like to save for another blog.
The video game community has really been like a second
family, one where I have found laughter, adventure, support, love and friends.
And what I love most about my culture is that it is very inclusive, anyone can
be a part of it, (you just have to learn to ignore those internet trolls and you’re
good)! Like any family you have all types, and you don’t always get along, but
you learn and grow and there is always one adventure or another that suits
people on an individual level. So unlike some cultures it’s very flexible. It
makes up a big part, if not the biggest part of who I am as a person.
Through
the games I’ve played I have lived vicariously, as if I’ve lived a thousand
lives and seen a thousand adventures. In many cases the characters I’ve met are
more real to me then some real people I know because of the impact they have
had in shaping my growth. I look forward to going into more detail as I
continue to explore culture and diversity this year, but for now I think I
better end this tale where it is. As a parting thought I’d like share a quote
that I think places my perspective of the video game culture more in line with the work of
a child and youth worker. The quote is by Chesterton and he says, “Fairy tales
don’t tell children dragons exist, children already know dragons exist. Fairy
tales tell children dragons can be killed.”
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