The two cultures I’m caught between are my Guyanese roots, and my Canadian uprising. Coming to Canada at the age of 5, and living with my parents who are also torn between two cultures. Has both a positive, and negative experience on my life. The Canadian lifestyle I grew up in had me witness many different experiences. As I saw people express them-self through rap, basketball, entertainment, freedom, and education. My lifestyle, and culture in Guyana had me witnessed experiences of robberies, submission, hate, and survival. As you can see two cultures with two different messages.
My Canadian culture provides me with positive experiences by motivating me to excel in life, and defining who I am. In Canada it does not matter if you are Christian, Muslim, straight, fat, skinny, black, white, male, or female as long as you grind you can accomplish your dreams. In Canada I do not have to fear death, I can have an education, I can attend university, sleep peacefully at night, and the most important, I have freedom. Basketball, movies/rap, and Canada’s diversity has showed me the light that Guyana could never offer me. The culture of the north first displayed it’s positive experience to me through basketball, my first love. Playing this game made me develop my work ethic, developed a mental toughness in my mentality, and provided me with brothers I hold dearly today. Movies/rap showed me what it is to be in a Canadian culture through its slang, the message one display through this art, how one express their past, and dreams through telling stories in different ways. Canada’s diversity has the greatest impact upon the culture I reside in. I live in Scarborough, I became its roots experiencing its multicultural classrooms, sports teams, libraries, malls, and communities. The Canadian culture is pieced together with many people of different faiths, and beliefs coming as one. Leaving their past, and their own identity back home as they adapt to a new culture of sports, rap/movies, and the multicultural environment. We are all one as a community, even though we come from all over the world. We create a new culture in which we can share a part of us, and also adapt to others.
My Guyanese culture reminds me of my survival to escape for freedom, and life. It also motivates me to do good in school, and to work hard so one day I can give my kids the life that was stolen from me in Guyana. The Guyanese culture I experienced is both hateful, and negative. The culture wants you to believe that we are all divided, and that people are alone in this world. The Guyanese culture divides many citizens as browns can only be associated with other browns, black are in their corner, and the rest reside in their own areas. This is because we are taught division from our parties who lead the country into corruption, and poverty. We are brought up to believe that we must not trust others, to hate, and to discriminate against our own people because of their skin color. We grow up with unease, and are upset because of the lack of jobs, which leads us to kill, and shoot to support our families. Our culture is torn between poverty, and hate upon color. This has impacted my life drastically because in Canada everyone is accepted, and welcomed to the culture. However, in Guyana only some people can be accepted into its culture depending on which skin color in running the government. Even when Guyanese people migrate to Canada they bring their negative culture to Canada such as: only trying to help themselves, looking down upon others, racist to certain people, believe they are above everyone else, and look down upon Canada’s culture ( rap, sports, movies, slang, clothing, others helping others, and acceptance of people). They are brought up this way, and when they come to Canada with their kids they teach them to live a Guyanese culture, the same culture they fled from. I am thankful for my parents because they have accepted the Canadian culture, and are teaching me to stray away from the culture I fled from. I believe they adapted to the culture this fast because they have seen the greatness of many people of different believes, and faiths coming together to provide life for their kids.
Escape Reality Enter Paradise 