Celebrating other cultures (a.k.a. Why you should go to a step show once in your life)

When I was a student at the University of Tampa, I remember introducing a step show as part of a routine for a non-Greek organization who was participating in a competition. It was an awesome display because at that time there were no black fraternities or sororities on the campus and aside from a small population of minority students, the vast majority of students on the campus probably had not had any exposure to or have seen or even have even heard of a step show. However, I truly believed that this particular competition would be an awesome opportunity.

I can still remember the event because the majority of the students there were white and I was really excited by the fact that they were going to see something that was unique to my culture that they may not have ever been exposed to. And, I was not surprised, they gave a rounding of applause at what they were seeing.

After that event, it made me wonder, how many of us out there don’t take the opportunity to engage in activities of other cultures? I can tell you as someone who grew up in the Rural south, when I got the opportunity to be exposed to a variety of different cultures from different countries, I jumped at it because it exposed me to things I had never seen before. But how many of us out there have gotten so comfortable within our own culture that we don’t believe it’s in our best interest to expose our self to anything outside of what we normally know?

If you ever get the chance to experience the wonders of an event or activity of another culture, try it. You may find yourself more amazed than you realize.

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