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Human beings have created a multitudinous array of wonderful cultures. How could we not feel the rush of curiosity and adventure when we encounter the uniqueness of any of them? Low Entropy Volunteer Writer Alexandra Dadivas speaks on the beauty of embracing difference.

At present, there are almost eight billion people on Earth. all of whom are scattered throughout seven different continents and 195 countries. They are divided by race, religion, cultural background and experiences. With all of these qualities making us so different, one might start to wonder how any of us could come together when the world couldn’t put us further apart.

I was born and raised in a Roman Catholic family. Hence, the holidays were a big deal! We had seven-foot-tall trees sprinkled with countless decorations that matched the rest of the house, cookies and milk waiting for a very special guest and presents for everyone we knew, all in celebration of the birthday of our Jesus. For a long time, it was all I knew. What didn’t occur to me was that not everybody believed in the same things that I did. At school, those candy canes that my classmates handed out were merely in the spirit of the holidays, not because it held any spiritual value to them personally. I decided to accept it, for all that mattered was that everybody was celebrating Christmas, right?

When I was 10, I met one of my closest friends, Aaliyah. It was such a rare and exciting connection, because we were alike in almost every single way. When Christmastime came around, I noticed she wasn’t as enthusiastic as the rest of the class was. I asked her why, and she said she didn’t celebrate Christmas, at least not this one. With wide eyes, I wondered what she meant, and she explained that she was Muslim and that her religion, Islam, had their own holidays, such as Eid and Ramadan. As much as I was taken aback, I was fascinated. She was someone who didn’t share my Christmas, but had her own kind that she celebrated in other ways. This dissimilarity actually brought us even closer, for we were both eager to learn about each other’s religion and how we could include each other in it. We made a pact that on her holidays, she would give me presents, and on mine, I’d do the same. Of course, as children, that was our favorite part, but as we got older I realized how beautiful our friendship had grown to become because of this difference. Despite the fact that the joy came from different sources, we bonded even more over our love for each others’ religions.

As time goes on and I am exposed to an even wider variety of people, the same exhilarating feeling runs through me every time I discover someone who has a different cultural upbringing than me. Every person is an opportunity to learn more about what every corner of the world has to offer. Even my immediate friend group shows so much diversity. Of the six of us, one is Scottish, two are Indian, another is Mexican, Aaliyah is Arab, and I am Filipino. Everybody makes an effort to explore each other’s traditions and backgrounds, and though these efforts are small, whether it be trying a traditional food or just giving them holiday greetings, there are powerful meanings behind them. It says that we respect one another’s differences as much as we embrace them.

I firmly believe that having diversity in one’s social circle increases the likelihood of feeling that prejudice is wrong. Whenever I come across someone who is racist and assumes, for instance, that all Black people are violent, I speak up as loud as I can because I think of my African-American friends, who have been through so much discrimination and pain. I defend Aaliyah and her kind family when somebody shames them on their religion or their home country, Palestine. My friends show me the best parts of humans – the parts that I will always stand up for, no matter what.

Having connections with people from all over the world allows you to see past the negativity that society has pinned on them, to the beauty of it all. It increases your admiration, curiosity and overall respect for every race, religion and culture that makes up humanity. Friendship itself is already an incredible thing, but once you delve into everything that makes a person, it becomes so much more real, and yet more magical at the same time. 

Share your culture with the Low Entropy team at our community site, or in person at a Conscious Connections meet-up!