Group Project: Our Lives

Our Lives was a play done to bring awareness to the stereotypical view of Kuwait versus the reality of their lives. Stereotypes are usually correlated with ignorance yet stereotypical judgements are so deeply rooted in society. 

I could relate to this group's point with stereotypes among cultures. My parents were born and raised in Sri Lanka, a tiny island off the coast of India. Growing up, many people would confuse me as Indian. That in itself is a stereotype. Most people associate someone with brown skin as being from India, and when I would correct them, most people didn't even know that Sri Lanka existed. Although America is considered a diverse country, it's astounding that many people don't bother to learn and respect other cultures. This may be an overstatement, but through the turbulent years of middle and high school, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary that classmates would make snarky comments about "rice and curry" and my parents Indian accents or even the "weirdness" of certain cultural practices. They're seemingly harmless comments, but it bothered me on the inside and played a huge part in my self- conscious with being Sri Lankan and different. Sometimes I would wish that I was a white Christian like the rest of my friends, so I wouldn't have to deal with pressures of cultural-clashes. 

Stereotypes will always be prevalent because it's deep historical roots, but if we all educate ourselves by experiencing other cultures, we can be more mindful of the differences and learn to respect the truth. Our Lives did an outstanding job with making this point.