In my Senior year Honors English class our teacher advised us on the importance of being “an intellectual.” Not just a run-of-the-mill, TV-consuming, romance-novel reading, boring, uninformed and uneducated person. I was 17 years old. And I decided, then and there, that I would strive to be An Intellectual. Perhaps I just liked the sound of it; I doubt if I really understood what it meant. So, here I am, a number of years later, wondering if I am really an intellectual or not. My conclusion is that I am an intellectual thinker, in the sense that I think about things, analyze them, observe, question and contemplate the world around me. But I don´t know if I am an intellectual person, as I am not that well read, dont seem to have the motivation to get a masters degree, and have a tendency to not read the news.
I started thinking a bit about this when I read some comments to my last blog entry. And realized that perhaps, just perhaps, I went a little over my head with my own personal ideas and theories. I like pondering these things and discussing them, but to be honest I am not well read on the subject of Mexican history and culture. Nor do I really intend to be. (Perhaps that is why I work in Marketing and not in Anthropology!) Though I do maintain that Mexico lacks a unified vision for the future. And if there is a unified cultural belief, it is a self-reinforced feeling that “we´re not good enough, we´re not worthy, and we´ll never get ahead” … probably reinforced through many years of being told what to do and not learning to think for themselves. In my personal opinion, based solely on my experience here, the thing Mexico most lacks is a huge dose of self-confidence! And an education system that encourages creative, independent thinking. But I digress …
So, I am left with a bit of a question about where to take my blog, what to do with it, what to write … I started the blog as a tool to force myself to create, to think critically, and improve my writing skills. I wanted a forum through which I could explore the world around me, ponder things, and discuss my cultural experience in Mexico. I also was not working at the time. Now I am. And I´m working a lot. So, here are my thoughts and options with the blog:
- I am fortunate to have a job that lets me think, or requires me to think and be creative. So, through my work I´m fulfilling my need to create, analyze and write. I dont need the blog for that.
- I´m over the “wow, let me tell you about my crazy experience in Mexico!” blog (already did that my first 6 months here). I no longer have a desire to talk about Mexico as a “crazy foreign land.”
- Since I am spending so much time at work, I am out and about less, observing and thinking about cultural stuff less … which leaves me with a lack of material to blog about if I continue on the Cultural Observation theme.
- I dont really have a desire to share my private personal life with the world. (sorry!) And I am sure there are plenty of girls blogging about relationships and feminine issues. So no blog material there.
So, I am left wondering what should be the point of CulturVista?? Should I let it die a quiet, peaceful death? Or should I make some necessary changes and keep going? And what sort of change should I make? I have thought and thought about different things to blog about, different angles, different stories … but am stuck. I need something interesting – for me and my readers! – something I can write in shorter entries – easier to read and faster to write – and a unique topic that will let me keep my “Cultural / Mexico” perspective …. hmmm. Wish me luck, or send ideas!, as I problem-solve.
October 16, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Necesitaba contestar tu blog y dar 2 comentarios generales:
1. La persona que te dijo que México tiene una identidad cultural es totalmente falso, me parece increíble el amor que tiene por su patria al cuál me uno al 100% yo amo mi país, sin embargo, entiendo y acepto que tiene mucho camino por andar en términos de identidad cultural, no entraré a detalles, porque el tema es extenso, sólo puntualizaré que la identidad de México se construye a partir de la Independencia (hace 200 años) bajo un concepto ambivalente de glorificación de la época pre-hispánica y el rescate de algunos elementos de la época de la conquista. Se trata de construir una nueva historia después de los 500 años que el país estuvo a expensas de España, donde el mestizo, nuestra raza, siempre fue rechazado y tratado como ciudadano de 3era categoría. Son heridas que se han transmitido de generación en generación y crean esa dualidad que vive el mexicano donde por un lado glorifica a los símbolos pre-hispánicos, pero por otro lado vive con una verguenza y un sentimiento de inferioridad por ser descendientes de mestizos. Bueno enviaré también varios estudios de antropólogos con amplia experiencia en el tema para complementar el pensamiento anteriormente escrito.
2. El otro comentario es, tu punto de vista sobre México, es increíble, puedo decir que yo como Mexicana me encanta porque entiendo y veo muchas cosas que no podría saber por mi misma, así que continúa con tu blog es de verdad muy interesante
November 4, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Yes! I think you should continue with the blog as well… perhaps the posts will be less frequent. Set a goal though of posting something at least every month (ok, maybe 2). I think your posts are very interesting, and I’m sure writing them helps you to think more critically about your observations and experiences in life there. Even though you’re busy with work, you’ll still get out in the evenings sometimes, and I’m sure have some good weekend adventures (in the city or out). So I think you should keep writing! 🙂 Justino
November 10, 2009 at 10:22 pm
For many countries and civilizations around the world, culture is not something that can be defined in one sentence. So instead of searching for a unifying identity, observing the lesser known smaller things there might lead to a different path… A path that will keep your blog interesting and going on and on.
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