Saturday, 30 May 2015

Odd one out

I always embraced other cultures and tried to learn about them.

So when presented with the option of sharing a house with foreigners I didn't think there would be any problems.

However I didn't take account of dealing with conflicting prejudices and social expectations.

Things I did that I found completely normal were sometimes frowned upon, leaving me occasionally fighting to be myself.

I didn't expect to struggle with acceptance that made me feel culturally alone.

This isn't an experience that I faced before.

When I look back on these difficulties now what I was struggling with wasn't about where they were from as it was about the fact that our attitudes weren't well aligned.

Had I been living with David Cameron my problem would have been similar.

The person that I am was in opposition to the people that they were and with those of them that was less the case for I found the relationship easier.

This is saddening because I imagine neither of us wants to change ourselves to live in harmony, so how do you build harmony when fundamental things about you conflict?

Does a certain level of conflict then become healthy or dangerous?

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