Our lives back home influence our lives here

One of the beautiful things about Andover is the diversity.  People come from all of the world, with different backgrounds, household cultures, political beliefs, religions etc.  Last night, I was walking back to my room when I heard some of my friends talking about this.  I tuned into the conversation. 

At Andover, all backgrounds are welcome to be expressed.  I notice how people’s backgrounds influence how they perceive different manners.  For example, I have one friend who gets takeout to her dorm almost every night for dinner.  I have never gotten takeout in my 6 months at Andover.  I eat at Commons every night, and I feel like I’ve never had more time than that to eat.  I was curious so I was talked to her about this habit, and she told me that she ate out for lunch every day back in China, so eating out is very normal and for her.  

Some people's lives back home are expressed very obviously, while others are less obvious.  I, for one, am an only child.  Coming to Andover, I learned about some of the connotations that only children have.  And while I never speak about how I’m an only child, in English class, in FIT, and when I’m having random conversations, people sometimes ask me, “Are you an only-child?”  When I say yes, they reply, “That’s what I thought.”  For a while, that confused me.  

Last night I realized why through the conversation with my friends.  I believe it’s because our stories show, regardless of whether we want them to or not.  It’s the way we’ve been raised, and we see it as a norm.  Our day to day behavior and demeanor reflects how we've been raised our lives back home.  Our lives back home influence our lives here. That being said, I think all students who come to Andover learn at least one thing, the importance in recognizing peoples various backgrounds and celebrating the differences.