Assignment 3-Hayden Caldwell- My Experiences in Two Cities

I have always had a passion for learning about different cultures and groups of people. I have made it a personal goal of mine to achieve a measure of fluency in Spanish and have dreamed about travelling to other countries, particularly in Europe. Many colleges I am looking at are more than a six hour drive away from home. Unfortunately, dreams don’t always translate into reality and the reality is that the furthest away from home I’ve been is Orlando, Florida on vacations. My closest experience to living far away for a prolonged period in time is living in Union, Kentucky during elementary and middle school. While my old house is only about an hour and ten minutes away, there are profound differences from my previous and current community. In Union, the demographic was at least 95% white and almost all families were at least well-off economically. Compared to the cultural and economic diversity of Lexington, Union paled. Moving to Lexington has opened me up to the people of our world and although moving is hard for anyone, I have learned invaluable information about our world. I could never have learned to appreciate the world the way I do without moving to Lexington. Interacting with people from different cultures has made me a better person. I also have experienced the world from two distinct points of view and that has helped me understand how different types of people think.