My Cultures: Self-reliance, Hard-work & Leisure
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According
to Peterson (2004, p. 22), values are considered to be the principles that people
regard as worthwhile. In my opinion, values are of great importance, which are
illustrated in the ways I behave and the things that I live for. Since “culture
is learned” (Lustig & Koester, 2010, p.25), values have then been accumulated
and become the mottos guiding my life through all the ups and downs. In this
essay, I will discuss in details two values regarded as the most important in
my life: self-reliance and hard work & leisure.
When
I hit the adulthood, the sense of self-reliance strongly evokes in me. One of
the dynamics that drive me to value self-reliance is my family, who somehow
affects my way of thinking about it. Whenever I look back on what my parents
have done and what they have been through, I feel so proud of them. They raise
their five kids on their own hands. Never complaining a word about how hard it
is to manage to feed the whole family, they make it by themselves. They can do
it and so can I.
In
“Self-reliance” (1841), Ralf Waldo Emerson also thinks that the nature of
self-reliance is reflected in “Trust thyself”. In my opinion, self-reliance is
the value in which individuals believe in their ability to get things done by themselves.
This means that individuals are not only making decisions on their own but also
responsible for them. When I was in high school, a crucial period of time in
the student’s life, I made my own decision about what kind of education to be
pursued after that. My parents were too busy with the earn-the-living matter
and somehow they wanted to let me choose what I truly want. Then I chose ULIS
since I had a strong passion for English language and I believed I could get a
promising job have a bright future. However, things were not as good as they
seem.
During
the student life in Hanoi, an overcrowded and suffocating city full of
challenges, which can make people easily give up if you they do not believe
enough in themselves, I have tried to deal with the difficulties on my own
including mental and financial ones. The feeling of homesickness and the stress
over the future career seemed like a nightmare. There was a time when I was at
terrible depress, in which I thought I could find no way out for my future. My
major is Translation and Interpretation; however, I finally realized that this
is not exactly what I want. Therefore, I was thinking about another career
plan, in which I would be a teacher as the last resort. Ironically, according
to the situation of the job market now, it is not easy to look for a place in
some schools here. I was so sad. Then my parents said they already had a
solution to my career matter though I did not say a word with them about it. I
was shocked to know that they already saved a big amount of money in order to
help me to get a place in a local school. That was too much and I could not
take it. I refused their support and said I could not owe them anymore and that
I wanted to cope with this on my own. This is my life and I cannot keep
thinking about the idea that my career was about to be saved that way. Things
started to get better when I applied for a TA position in an English center,
which gave me hope. Then after a long time teaching English, I wanted to try
another job. Fortunately, I was eventually accepted to work part-time in a
certification and inspection company as an assistant. After having experienced
quite many jobs during the student life, I feel more optimistic about my future
career, for which there will be ways out.
The
second value that plays an important aspect in my life is hard work &
leisure. I was taught to be hard-working since I was a kid and that I should
pay a certain degree of devotion in everything I do. It is commonly known that working hard can
give us a better life in terms of material and spiritual aspects. We work hard
to earn money, give our lives meaning and get some leisure time.
I
can see the big differences between how the people from my hometown and the
people from Hanoi spend their time on leisure. One of the reasons causing such
differences maybe derive from the living standard. I have been seeing how hard
and my parents have worked and how they have enjoyed the life. I can remember
when the harvest time in summer came. That was when people got sweaty and
exhausted after a hard-working day, my parents often treated the whole family a
quite hearty meal to imply that it was time to reward ourselves. Sometimes, we
sat together watching TV while enjoying some home-made snacks. Never have we
done something else for leisure such as travelling. That is the way that my family
spends time for rest. Unlike the people from rural areas, the urban people have
more choices. It is quite common that parents take their kids to the restaurant
for dinner on Friday or on weekends, or the entire family spends several days
during the National Holiday on the beach, somewhere far from their home. In
other words, they are more likely to have the sense of mobility, which the
rural people rarely think about.
I was born and raised in a very poor land and I
have lived in Hanoi for nearly four years to pursue my university education.
Therefore, I was remarkably affected in the ways I think about the hard-work-and-leisure
value. I think there should be an appropriate balance between work and leisure.
I treat the two affairs equally. I work hard and I play hard. The work-hard-and-play-hard value has been a
motto guiding me for all my life. As a student, I always try to attend the
class regularly and complete the school stuff before deadlines. As a staff at
the work place, I strive to finish the tasks I am assigned and work under high
pressure in order to achieve success. Afterschool and after work, I often spend
my spare time on my hobbies such as reading books, watching movies, playing
games and listening to my favorite music. Sometimes, I hang out with friends
having some drinks or make a trip to somewhere nice with my boyfriend. From my
perspective, if life was just for work, it would be boring and tiring and if
life was just for leisure, it would be totally meaningless.
Last
but not least, as a young 23-year-old girl, I feel as if the life journey, of
which I am the master, has just started and there will be a lot for me to do in
the future. Personally, there is just only one life to live, so I just want to
live the way I want with the core values that I have been seeking for:
self-reliance and hard work & leisure.
References
Peterson,
B. (2004). Cultural intelligence: A guide
to working with people from other cultures. Boston: Intercultural
Press.
Lustig,
M. W., & Koester, J. (2010). Intercultural
competence: Interpersonal Communication across cultures. Boston: Pearson.
Emerson,
R. W. (2007). Self-Reliance. Rockville, Maryland: Arc Manor. 
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