A Engelbrecht 50534718

In this blog entry I will be discussing the concept of "where I know from."

I grew up in a household with strong Christian and religious beliefs overall. We had never enjoyed a meal without praying and we never went without praying throughout the day. They way I view things were shaped by the way my family went about viewing the world and I still, to this day, have the same beliefs, views, and morals that I had when I grew up. Supporting, encouraging and loving the ones close to you is something my family strongly believe in. We base everything we encounter and do according to the Holy Bible and, for me personally, I could not be more grateful and blessed to had been born into this life and to had been so fortunate to be exposed to two different cultures.

My father's side is Afrikaans and my mother's Greek, but I grew up speaking and learning Afrikaans, although, I communicate in English and partially Greek whenever I speak with my grandparents. However, since my grandparents lived with us, they had shared a great part of Greek culture with us and made many traditional foods as well as celebrated religious holidays the way Greeks do. Where I know from and where my neighbour knows from are completely different and contrasting from one another because we were taught differently and grew up in complete opposite environments, which has the most effect on our views were shaped.

I was put in a very fortunate position since both parts of my family are practicing the same traditions and beliefs because it makes it easier to follow and be able to learn of my religion through many unique ways and different points of view. I would say that the teachings from my mother grounded me in Christianity and that it is "where I know from."

What I know and where I know from has shaped my views in various different ways, it changed the way I think of and overall view any situation. I believe that to forgive and forget is very necessary to stay in a positive mind, I believe that opportunities can appear through prayer... I have many beliefs. I build my beliefs around the church and try to live by them every day.

I "know from" a religious perspective through both my dad and mom's family because of their shared religion and somewhat a social and cultural perspective through my mom's family since we practice traditions and cook food of Greek culture.

The term 'networks of kinship' can be described as social relationships between people who are related or not related. it can be partnership, adoption, blood relatives or friends that forms a great part of your life.

I have a great relationship with my family, all of us would rather sit down at a table and spend time with one another instead of locking ourselves in our rooms and wasting our bonding time by being on our phones. I absolutely love that about my family, it's safe to say that I would take a bullet for them any time of day. Since we are a family of 8 living in one house, we help each other wherever help is needed, I always help whoever is cooking, prepare the food. 

As for my close circle of friends, I always confide in them, and they always confide in me. I have been told that I am a very good listener and that I give great advice when it comes to personal problems that they might have, but that is only because I can relate to them in that aspect. We have a very strong relationship, and we share everything with one another. They are the people I always include whenever I plan on going out to a restaurant, club and so on. I only have four close friends, but all of our mutual friends see us as a package, they already know that if only one of us get invited to something, all of us would show up invited or not. 

I have quite a few distant friends, they are the people I usually greet when walking past them and sometimes have a quick conversation with. They are mostly people I have known for a long time, but never really went out of my way to conversate with or make plans with. a Few of them are closer to me than others, but still not my 'go-to' group of people, only when my closest friends aren't available. I would reach out to them from time to time to hear how they're doing, but that's most likely all I do to engage and to some extent maintain the friendship between us. 

I would say that, by taking into consideration of all the networks we have with different groups of people it is evident that human connection goes to a deep extent. 

The word "othering" and its definition, in my opinion, is extremely diminishing and results in numerous communities having false perceptions towards a complete opposite group from them. It sets the impression that other social groups can only be seen as a single story described them. 

I feel that people from different social/ cultural groups should not be judged or judge others based off one single story that they have heard, because I believe that it can truly affect people's confidence in their cultures and within themselves. People should start looking at different cultures or social groups from a few different angles so that they can discover the whole truth and not base their judgement off of one idea. 

The incredible Chimamanda Adichie (2009) stated that a single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. Those words were very meaningful to me and stood out to me immediately, I completely agree with her statement, and I am sure that many others feel the same as I do. It reminded me to take every story into consideration before making assumptions and judging people based off one single story. 

In conclusion, I feel that the term "othering" creates a misperception between total opposite social groups and their views on one another and should no longer be practiced as it belittles social groups and their confidence as well as their pride in their cultures.