Kennedy Sims Reflective Essay Essays (496 words) - Discrimination

Kennedy Sims Reflective Essay Essays (496 words) - Discrimination Kennedy Sims December 2 nd , 2018 @02839811 Freshmen Seminar Reflective Essay During the duration of this project, the research as well as the interviews that I have conducted have surprisingly opened my eyes to the experiences of many in the Middle East. Even though the racism experienced by some in this region may be prevalent, for others it may not seem this way. After conducting an interview with freshmen at Georgia Southern University Mustafa Najjar, I learned that some of the things individuals from the Middle East go through on the daily is very similar to what African Americans experience daily in the United States of America. The ignorance to the real environment, structure, and culture of the Middle East is one that I feel should be addressed. As Mustafa stated in his interview, many view the Middle East in a completely different era. This related to him even more because he is originally from Egypt and most people from America have never had the opportunity to visit the country. Therefore, as expected, our idea of the area is warped. This research allowed me to interact with an individual from a group of people that I normally would not on a daily basis. It also allowed me to see things through his eyes and to actually learn about some of the things they experience. When conducting this research, the most challenging part was finding articles or testimonials that actually explained how individuals from the Middle East felt they had to assimilate in America and how these individual experiences shaped their view of home in the states. Another challenging part was coming up with questions that related to the project and getting my interviewee to understand these. One thing that surpised me during this project was to hear that Mustafa never personally experienced racism and when asked it was hard to think of anyone around him who had. This was surprising but also, I felt kind of bad assuming that he had experienced racism. This is a subject that should not be as normalized as it is today. Another challenging aspect of this project was actually being a part of the group. Throughout the process I had to have great time management skills in order to make it to meetings actually having research about the topics discussed. I also had to communicate effectively with the group leader making sure she had all of the research and recordings she needed from me so that our project and everything else would be submitted on time. Overall, I believe participating in this project and conducting research allowed me to not be so ignorant on certain subjects as well as peaked my interest in researching other cultures and traditions outside of my own. I believe this project was definitely one that was needed, and it helped me to expand my thought process and be more sensitive to those that aren't like me.