“There is so much happening in the world. And the only way to be more well versed is to be a global citizen, traveling from one place to another all the time” – Frieda Pinto.
To me, global citizenship means that one should be culturally aware of the world they live in. I believe travelling and living overseas leaves the door open for awareness and understanding to come in. Living abroad will test you, and it will be hard, but through difficulty and failure, is where true learning lies. Global citizenship means a lot to me considering my background. I was born in Pakistan, grew up in the United States of America, and lived in China for the past four years of my life. Living in multiple countries, has made me socially and culturally aware of
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My ancestors were from Afghanistan and they migrated to Pakistan, which was British India at the time, and after the split they were in the Pakistan side; and that is where I was born. I moved out of Pakistan to the U.S when I was three, but even though I didn’t live there for a long time, it grounded my beliefs, my spirituality and my goals. My whole extended family still lives in Pakistan, the only people who are living abroad is me and my immediate family, a few cousins and an uncle. I don’t remember the move, so that wasn’t hard on me but the aftermath of it growing up was. I wasn’t able to grow up around my aunts, uncles, cousins, and most importantly my grandparents. I didn’t get the traditional childhood around family. I missed out on hundreds of lessons, family gatherings, and hugs. I had to learn a new language, make new friends, and adopt new social norms. If I hadn’t been born in Pakistan, I don’t believe I would have been so keen to withhold the lessons I learned while I was there; but since I was born there and my whole family is there, I hold those values and memories so dearly because it is all I have left from …show more content…
I moved when I was fourteen, so during the very futile teenage years, which were already tough enough. I moved to a new country on the other side of the world, to learn a new language, make new friends, and adapt to a new school’s pace. Moving to China was a huge culture shock for me. I went from a public state school of 3,000 kids, to a private international school, with about 800 kids. The work ethic, was more fast-paced and competitive. You always had to be better than the person sitting next to you. It was hard because while I was dealing with the emotional and mental stress of leaving everything I had ever known, I had to maintain good grades, meet new people, and adapt to the environment around me. Minnesota had blue skies, and lush green prairies, while Shanghai had grey skies, and concrete and glass buildings. I had made friends in the U.S that were my friends for over 10 years, and when I moved I had to force myself to be social. It put me in a constant state of being uncomfortable, but I am really thankful I moved because it taught me to accept the difficulties of change, and to treat them as lessons. Living in China, taught me to appreciate how different cultures
...going to elementary school, along with my father studying and receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. At the age of 8, my family moved to Dallas, Texas because my father got a job there. My little brother started kindergarten, and we lived there for 2 years, and moved again to Montreal, Canada, when I was going into 5th grade. I had to take one French class because it was the second language of Quebec, a state in Canada where Montreal was located in. But it was fascinating to learn a new language other than my mother language and English. I spent 2 years in Montreal, and then finally in 7th grade, I moved to Denver, Colorado. I had to move from different places and schools, which partially was a disruption to my education and partially not because I learned the different cultures that exists in just two different countries, located in the same continent.
There are many challenges that one must face as we go through life. I have faced a few myself, however, none proved more challenging than moving from my country; Jamaica, to the United States and subsequently moving to the state of Wisconsin. Deciding to leave behind family and friends is the hardest decision to make, however, there are a few things that I was not prepared for that made the transition more challenging than expected. Moving away from all that is familiar culturally, socially and economically can be even more of a daunting task than imagined. There are things that are taught to us by our parents and others that are more dictated by our environment than anything else, so when I immigrated to the United States I had three major challenges to overcome.
According to Keeping and Shapiro, “The term ‘global citizenship’ is increasingly heard, especially in Canada, but rarely defined.”(as citied in Block and Friesen, 2012, page 215) I believe if a person who would like to place their own identity with a global community through actions much more than their identity about values and practices, they will become a part of global citizenship. After learning in ELLA 0360 textbooks, there are three people that stand out. They are Dr. Christopher Opio, Lindsay Willms and David Suzuki.
Have you imagined leaving your homeland behind and settling in a different country? As a kid I always enjoyed the idea of traveling the world, and discovering new things, but never had thought it would be very hard to let go everything and leave. Growing up, I was always eager to meet new people, learn new languages, and make my own adventures in life. Soon, that dream turned into reality when my family decided to move to the United States of America in hopes of having a better future and new opportunities. I had mixed feelings and was confused about what to expect in the future. However, this was the biggest fear I have ever faced in my life. It was difficult to get adjusted to a new culture challenging because change brings the unknown and unfamiliar with it.
Coming to a foreign country is a daunting experience. When I first moved to America, I had to leave everything behind such as, - my family,friends, and life back home. Although I welcomed the change, I was also afraid. This fear hovered over me for a long time before I had the courage to let it go. My experiences, both good and bad, allowed me to break out of my shell, become a leader for my family, and strive against all the odds to achieve my goals.
The meaning of citizenship as a concept varies significantly for each individual-this meaning is directly influenced by factors such as age, ideological beliefs and socioeconomic class. Due to this difference in perspective it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what citizenship entails concerning the balance between the freedoms that we experience as citizens and the responsibilities that we must each fulfill in order for a democracy to function with stability and efficiency. This has become an issue in modern society as some citizens (particularly those in the millennial cohort) shrug off traditional duty based citizenship norms such as voting in elections, paying income taxes and obeying the law- for more “engaged” forms of participation such
A few months before all of this I was pleased with my calm life in a local city of Taiwan. I settled there at the age of two with my family, and things were going well so far. Because I lived there for ten years, the longest time that I ever spent living in one place, I had made really good friends and was not looking forward to any significant changes although my mom had told me a long time ago, we might move to USA to settle with our uncle and grandma. My mom also told me that the other reason we move is for a better education and life there but I was not listening at that time. I thought she was just joking around because my brother and I have always expected to have a vacation to other countries. By the time I finished my first year of middle school I knew that this was nearly impossible. My family was already packing up, cleaning out the house, and reserving four airplane tickets to USA.
In the year 2005, my parents decided to move to Pakistan so that my brother, sister, and I get a better understanding about our culture and religion. My dad had to stay behind so that he can work to stabilize us financially in Pakistan.
Moving to another country and starting a new chapter of life are two of the most difficult things in life. Nobody wants to change, including me. In my country, Vietnam, people usually says that "if you have a chance to live in the United States, your future will be so bright because living in America is living on a field that is full of gold." When I was young and still as a child, my parent told me that we will be leaving Vietnam and moving to the United States in the future. When I heard that, I was so happy. Four years ago, my family and I moved to the United States with the hope of having a better future and the happiness of family reunion with my grandparent. On the way to United State, we always thought, expected, and hoped that everything will be okay and fine. After few months we have been living in the new country, problems started to happen. My parents could not communicate and understand people who spoken English because they had no chance to study English back in Vietnam. In Vietnam, they only used motorcycle. When they came here, they had to learn how to drive cars. It was really hard for my parents to find jobs since they could not speak and understand English, could not drive either. Everything was new and we had to learn and start everything from the beginning. It was really hard for my parent, including me.
It was a beautiful, sunny day in South Florida. I was six years old, playing by the pool with my new puppy. I loved swimming in the pool almost every day after school. I also enjoyed going out on our boat after school or crossing the street and going to the beach. My father came home one evening with some interesting news. Now, I do not remember exactly how I felt about the news at that time, but it seemed like I did not mind that much. He had announced that we were going to move back to my birth country, Belgium. I had been living in Florida for five years and it was basically all I had known so I did not know what to expect. I had to live with my mom at first, and then my sister would join us after she graduated high school and my father finished settling things. I remember most of my earlier childhood by watching some old videos of me playing by the pool and dancing in the living room. It seemed like life could not get any better. However, I was excited and impatient to experience a new lifestyle. I realized that I could start a whole new life, make new friends and learn a new language. Belgium was not as sunny as South Florida but it has much better food and family oriented activities. Geographic mobility can have many positive effects on younger children, such as learning new languages, being more outgoing, and more family oriented; therefore, parents should not be afraid to move around and experience new cultures.
The definition of citizenship has more to do than just a person who live in the country. A citizenship can be obtained by confirming the legal requirements and laws that comes from the nation, state and local authorities. Once the person becomes a citizen in the lawful country, the person will possess the rights and privilege for being a citizen, in addition to that they will also have the means to serve their responsibilities within the country, and in return the person can get the benefits from being a citizen. The person will get the rights to express themselves, freedom to worship, receive a fair trial by the jury, rights for employment, the right to vote, the right to pursue the office and the right to pursue liberty/happiness. I believe
In today’s continuously changing world, many experts say that globalization is what every business, organization, and nation should seek and welcome as a positive change. However, many people are unaware of the main focus and meaning of Globalization, especially in comparison to Localization. A large number of people believe that globalization is just another common word used to refer to changes and differences that cannot be explained or accounted for. Therefore, many different activities or changes are improperly labeled to be a part of or caused by globalization.
A citizen is a legal member of a country to which it pledges fidelity. Along with citizenship are certain freedoms, shielding, and duties. Being a member of a country also means a citizen is a member of a community and should strive to make their community a better place to live. There are a number of ways to become a citizen in the United States. Several ways include citizenship by naturalization and citizenship by birth. All citizens of the U.S. have equal protection under the law.
We cannot stop the phenomenon of globalization due to strong interdependence of our lives on those things which are a product of globalization. It has complicated the process of education but has also created many opportunities for countries to break out of the traditional models of education. The idea of global citizen is seen as a person who can act locally but think globally, is a goal that keeps an eye on maintaining cultural diversity while exposing a country’s citizen to the benefits of globalization. Cultural diversity can be strengthened through globalization by providing means and resources to support cultural groups attempting to make a difference in society while maintaining their distinctive set of values and
The world is a magnificent place that’s full of life and new places. Places that are waiting to be walked upon and viewed by the eye’s of travelers. To make new memories and go places that is beyond the walls of reality and new pathways of life. To truly experience the wonders that the world has to offer can be expressed by the life of one single person, setting off into the world to gain a higher purpose about the world. Traveling individually enables people to broaden their minds and accumulate new ideas and new experiences both nationally and internationally. By setting off into the world a person has the ability to learn so many new things, but also find so much about themselves while in the process of traveling.