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| A Box of Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces U.K. Doshisha International High School |
| When you open a 3000 piece box of jigsaw puzzles, and lay the pieces in front of you, it seems like an endless struggle to finish up the picture drawn on the lid. How can these different pieces fit together to assemble into one whole picture? Although every single piece is different and unique in shape and color, when they are put in the right place it forms a beautiful picture. In the same way, ideal society fits the no identical members together to form one unit. Multiculturalism is a part of any country. It provides us with a whole variety of cultural activities and even different views of life. Many people may refer to the United States as a "melting pot". The "melting pot" is created by blending many cultures together in one area. The United States is one of a few countries that have made a multiethnic society work. The United States is a melting pot of varying backgrounds. In a way, Doshisha International has formed a "melting pot" of its own. The school is filled with students, different in their background and even in race. Most of the students here are returnee students, and so have come home to their country after soaking up all the different cultures of the world. Even then, everyone gets along. Somehow, the students have been able to all bond together to form a finished puzzle. Most teenagers all dress alike, talk alike and even look alike. They make groups in school and "hang out" with people similar to them. They make fun of people who are somewhat different. This is something I experienced in England, the U.S. and even in Japan, but in Doshisha, I am experiencing a whole different atmosphere. When I returned from England, I attended a public school in Nara which I now know damaged the side of me that was different from the other Japanese children. Feelings of disgust fill me when I remember this, and when I observed myself been crushed by the feeling of need to fit in and be accepted and to be like someone else. My difference in character, appearance and even in emotion, which were created by my experiences abroad, where simply not accepted in the school. I lost my high self-esteem and tried to change myself, which was a complete waste of time. After graduating from Doshisha International Junior High School where I adjusted and was back to my old self, I decided to take the risk and go to the United States to experience something new. There, I found myself in the same position I was before in the Japanese public school. However, the people did respect me and realized that I was nothing so different, but had black hair and yellow skin. There I read Henry David Thoreau's Walden and this famous passage that has given me the courage to stay myself: "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away."(1) As I have mentioned before, Doshisha International is an exceptionally multicultural school. The school has a lot of different cultures, and not one is similar to the others. No culture is better or worse than the other. It is normal to meet people from all over the world in most every classroom. This is quite similar to the United States where everyone is respected. Each student must become aware of their own culture and how they are different and similar from the others. Now I do not get clueless when I confront situations involving people different from me. Multiculturalism has become increasingly important as our society has become more diverse. |
| One might think we live in a century where discrimination has become the past, but this is not true. We still live with gender discrimination, racism and discrimination towards the disabled. The world has to go through a lot of drastic changes in order to cope with these problems of prejudice, racism and stereotyping. We must be tolerant and accepting of different peoples and their beliefs. In order to make the melting pot smoother we must learn to respect others different from us and give way to each other. The world can only become the completed puzzle if the pieces are not missing or damaged in any way. Also, I want all the students in Doshisha International to stay exactly the way they are. There is no answer to what is normal and what is not; each student is significant in his or her own way. We have to accept and educate ourselves to be proud of our own heritage, which shapes our identity as an individual. By putting these different "pieces" together, you will see the perfect jigsaw puzzle assembling to form a multi-colored outstanding picture. |
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