Two Different People United By One School

When walking into my interview of color, I expected to have a dull or mundane chat with someone I barely knew, other than him being of Korean descent, but what I got was much more. James Lee is a senior here at Penn State University who studies Accounting and Finance, and is currently finishing research for finance. He was born in South Korea and lived there until the age of eleven when he moved to the United States and settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Eventually, his immediate family situated themselves in San Diego, California, while his extended family still resides in South Korea. I was surprised to find out we have a lot in common, and was intrigued to hear his stories of living life at Penn State as part of a minority. We both love to watch and play both basketball and soccer. However, I’m interested in communication studies and he is very much interested in finance and the way our economy functions. We even share some of the same tastes in music. These normal interests and hobbies show just how accustomed James has become to the American lifestyle.

James has many hobbies, which include playing basketball, watching professional soccer, and traveling throughout different parts of the United States and the world. He enjoys reading has developed a solid friend base in his time at Penn State. He is outgoing and is always up for an intellectual challenge. We share mostly all of these hobbies and interests. I hope to one-day travel the world and learn the customs of many other cultures. I love to read when I get the chance, and play basketball often. We even scheduled a one-on-one pick-up basketball game with each other! While I conducted this interview, we watched a soccer game between Dinamo Zagreb and Dinamo Tbilisi. At the height of the interview, we both jumped for joy at a perfectly executed shot was scored and Dinamo Zagreb took the lead.

Considering he is very involved in the college, James has many diverse friends. I also have many diverse friends from home, but I intend to make more during my Fall semester at Penn State. Although he said most of his friends are white, James has different friends from other varying ethnicities. His fraternity brothers in Tau Kappa Epsilon told him they were initially shocked to admit a member of a minority to their fraternity. “Most of my brothers were shocked because if you look across the board, most fraternities consist of white males from families within the United States” said James. In my situation, I do not have to worry about these social concerns on a daily basis. I was raised without having to worry about social prejudices and biases. Joining the fraternity is one of the main reasons he experienced making white friends because of these statistics. Although majority of his friends are white, he said that wasn’t his intention. “While growing up, I moved from time to time and met many different types of people. I never intentionally looked for white friends, but just adapted to the lifestyle and culture that surrounded me.” I believe this is true because even throughout this short Summer session at Penn State, I get caught up in school, homework, and maintaining a social life. With all of these important things to focus on, I find myself talking to anyone who can help me in any way accomplish my goals for the semester.

Since James does not really go out of his way to meet culturally diverse people, he did not care to pay attention to the stereotypes that surrounded him. Initially, he felt awkward being placed in a classroom with people who were predominantly different than him, he adjusted to his surroundings. He claimed that the usual stereotypes, like having talents in mathematics, existed and people assumed he was intelligent. This, however, is not wrong in his case. James maintains a high grade point average, as well as stays very up-to-date on the news happening in the world around him, especially in the United States and South Korea. Personally, I have grown up with very old rooted stereotypes. Sometimes, people believe just because I am a white girl I cannot accomplish something or perfect something as well as a white male could. When I was younger, I also had bright, bleach-blonde hair, which helped coin the phrase “dumb blonde” that was used often to describe silly mistakes I would make. I would like to believe I have grown up to be an educated female with much more to accomplish with her life. James lives his life the same way- he hopes to acquire a job once leaving college and earn a hefty salary.

“As for the media I consume, I stick to the basics- television, radio, books, and newspapers. I also enjoy probing social media such as Instagram, Twitter, and even Snapchat” said James. He uses his Twitter for mostly educational purposes, like following the stock market, various venture capitalists, and trending topics throughout the world. He “lets loose” on Instagram, where he follows friends and relatives and stays informed with their changing lives through their pictures and captions. He also uses Snapchat to stay in contact with his friends from across the country. Creating an account with Airbnb.com was also important to him, considering the amount of time he spends traveling from place to place. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal are must-reads and part of his daily routine. In this aspect, we share many similarities. I admit to having an account on all of these forms of social media, as well as adding Facebook to the mix. I find it a must to stay up-to-date on the current news. I have even sparked an interest in reading the newspaper ever since experiencing this class. Although I am not a fan of the in-depth world of accounting and finance, I stay on top of new break-throughs happening in the communications field around the globe. It is important to stay in tune with our majors because they are changing on a daily basis.

James Lee taught me a lot during our short interview of color. He showed me that no matter where we are from, it is important to respect others around us and values them for what they have to contribute to society. His view on society is unbiased, like my own, and does not go out to search for people who look, speak, or act like him. This is an important tool for society because America is the “melting pot” of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and we must all learn to respect each other and the aspects of our cultures respectively. Together, we are two similar people who admire the advancements of technology and like to stay up to date with the news and sporting events held throughout the globe. Completing this interview of color helped me clearly see that all people strive for one common goal: to fit in.

 

Picture1

4 thoughts on “Two Different People United By One School

  1. I definitely think I do not have any stereotypes because of the diverse group of friends that i made back home. We had many exchange students from different parts of the world participate in a program that allows them to live on my high school’s campus and attend school there for a fee!

  2. One thingI forgot to ask James was if it was relatively easy to transition to the American lifestyle, but I think it was. I would love to spend a day with him in the future to learn more about his culture!

  3. It was interesting to read your interview and to learn more about the students here on campus. What more did you wish you asked James? Do you ever think you would spend a day with him to learn more?

Leave a Reply