ShapeShifters

Greetings ShapeShifters!

Lavash, Roti, Pita, Tortilla, Naan, Bing, Pizza, Yufka, Himbasha etc. all have one thing in common, even though we may think otherwise: they are all breads! They may look different, they may be prepared differently but they all have the same function in our respective ethnic meals. All of the breads have the same basic ingredients, yet we all have different names for it. Now, you may be wondering why we are talking about breads. No, we are not a food Blog, just keep reading. We, Humans, are like the breads, more alike than we realize! We may think everyone’s condition is different, but it is all the same. We all face the same struggles, not to mention … eat the same foods, yet we always like to point out how different we are from one another. We are not that different, open your mind and open the lines of communication with someone you think is “different” and in time you will see that we all have different pieces of the same bread.

I think it is safe to say that we all have felt as though we do not “belong” at some point in our lives. Being raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, with people of many different cultures surrounding us, we’ve always had to deal with switching our identities to cater to the group we are with.The ability to do so is both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing because we are capable of blending in with our surroundings and getting to know many different types of people. It's a curse because we run the risk of losing ourselves in the swarm of people whom we feel the need to assimilate to. Our identities are heavily determined by the people we surround ourselves with, our cultural norms, expectations and our upbringings. Our forever changing world also offers challenges as to what is widely accepted as the “norm.” Globalization is forcing us to look at everyone as a single functioning unit and not smaller units working in different realms. With technical advances and social media we have the ability to connect across realms making it one. We have the ability to share information with people all around the world, some of whom we've never even met. In this age, feeling as though we do not “belong” is a thing of the past, we have the power to connect with people on a global scale, you just have to be willing to look.

Our Blog will discuss the topic of experiences with cultural identity in this world that is forever changing. We hope to explore the multiple facets of living in a world with many cultures. Our plan is to share stories from personal experiences that we believe carry some insight, which hopefully will pass along a bit of wisdom and help those with similar experiences. We will be branching out to our small community of friends and family to gather their thoughts on the topic and we will be sharing those stories as well. Every individual's experience is important. Those experiences should be heard and reflected upon in order for us to better understand this world we are apart of. Understanding, as a result, will make us more well rounded individuals. Each person has the right to express himself/herself in whatever way he/she chooses, as long as no one is being harmed in the process (physically or emotionally). Our views are not the opinions of everyone, so please share your stories and thoughts on the topics we cover. Hopefully our blog will be the catalyst that our world needs to open the lines of communication with one another.

Sincerely,

ShapeShifters