What is culture? Quite frankly, I have no idea. Does culture simply consist of the labels that I identify with? Am I a Pakistani-American-New Yorker-North Dakotan-Minnesotan-Vegetarian-Straightedge-College Student-Muslim-Saxophonist?
Or is culture deeper than that? Is culture something that exists within and without us? Is culture something we are unable to define? I believe that this is so, and this is the only justification I have for my initial statement of uncertainty. I do not know what culture is because it is not explicitly definable (although it may breed stereotypes which attempt to define it).
I can say personally that the idea of culture has confused me for the better part of my life. I have only just learned to appreciate it. Being the only Pakistani and Muslim growing up in Sartell, I felt that I was part of two clashing and sometimes feuding cultures.
I practiced Islam, and everyone around me was either Christian or atheist. I did not drink, do drugs, date or eat pork. (Mind you, these things were not forced upon me, they were my choice.)
I listened to Lata Mangeshkar, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and The Spice Girls. I watched Bollywood and Hollywood. I read Harry Potter and Jhumpa Lahiri. To put it simply, I was lost. I had a difficult time reconciling all these parts of my life.
To pose another question among all this ambiguity, how do we cultivate culture if we are unable to define it? For me, it has become an adventure. Culture can be limiting, but it can also be liberating.
I can explore the various facets of culture with an open mind
and not be constrained by my stereotypes that are attached to the cultures with which I most closely identify. Not only do I know this now, but I appreciate it so much more now that I understand that my parents
probably would have been condemned if they did not strictly follow their cultural “norms” while they were growing up.
They came to the United States for us, and I will always be thankful for it. Here, I can be anyone I want to be, and I can feel comfortable with the fact that culture is not static.
My advice to students on campus is that they not hesitate in exploring other cultures or assuming the parts of other cultures that they are fond of. We have a myriad of cultures that we are exposed to everyday, and we should take the initiative to learn from them as much as we can.
If there is one thing I hear over and over again on this campus, it is the common phrase, “I have no culture.” I can guarantee this is untrue, and I hope this letter has helped to clarify that.
Everyone is part of a culture, his or her own individual culture and collective cultures; take the time to cultivate it. You may never be able to answer the question, “Who are you?” but there is no harm in trying and embracing ambiguity.
This is the opinion of Tehreem Fatima Sabir, a CSB junior.