Reflective diary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Reflective diary - Essay Example He does not really overtly manifest his beliefs, expectations, perceptions, assumptions, values, thoughts, deep-seated feelings and impactful experiences in his life. Take that iceberg and multiply it a hundredfold and you have a multi-faceted population who may only be bound a number of commonalities. Culture may be one of them, or gender, or age, but still, deep inside, they are unique individuals. Let’s say a person from a certain cultural background is plucked out of that environment and brought to a totally different one. Orberg (1960) theorized that his initial reaction would be culture shock because he is not accustomed to what he sees and experiences in that new place. He may be excited to be there and feel that it suits him really well because it addresses his own personal preferences for a living environment. Take someone else from the same culture he belongs to and bring him to the same new environment. He may likewise experience culture shock but not be excited lik e the first individual. On the contrary, he may be terribly upset for leaving his home culture because he was out of his comfort zone and needed to go back to it. Both people from the same culture may have different views and perceptions of the new culture and their reaction to it will depend on what they have â€Å"beneath the tips of their icebergs†. ... ), but after some time, he might realize that it is something very different from what he was accustomed to, so he becomes frustrated and confused (morning after stage). This is the time when homesickness sets in, and is described as the dip in the U-curve. Eventually, as he learns to adjust to his new environment, he slowly regains his positive disposition. This pattern is not limited to adjustment to living in a new country. It may also be adjustment to a new job, new school, phase of life, etc. where the individual experiences a different culture. Adjusting to the people in the new culture may be challenging especially if there is a language barrier. If so, the individual will rely on non-verbal communication to understand the natives. He also needs to know the new culture and be aware the people’s beliefs, value system, food, traditions, etc. David Kolb (1984) explains four stages of learning experiences. These are having concrete experiences, reflective observations of wh at was just experienced, abstract conceptualisation or extracting learning from the experience and finally the active experimentation leading to new experiences thereby completing the full learning cycle. For an individual immersed in a new culture, he needs to establish rapport with others and establish smooth interpersonal relationships. Especially in settings where people from various cultures come to live and work together, each person adopts certain roles to play to contribute to the team. Belbin (1981) has come up with team roles. Team roles improve self-knowledge and understanding among individuals and teams. They also depict a current behavioral pattern at a certain point in a person’s life. Preferences aren't fixed, since many factors can influence behaviour, whether a new job,

HU300 Unit 7 A Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

HU300 Unit 7 A - Research Paper Example It is to be understood as having a â€Å"life† that moves within it (Scruton, 2009, p. 7). Therefore, music is about life and is understood as the universal language. As a universal language of life, music portrays our moods in all aspects of our lives. People listen to music for a lot of reasons: to ease melancholy, to celebrate victory, to complement the feeling of romance and passion, to grieve and to listen to the new single of one’s’ favorite artist. Therefore, music is a way of life, and it forms part of our journey as humans. Music: Representation of Moods and Stages of Life Childhood Years During my childhood years, there was something about male and female groups that I really liked the most. I grew up listening to Spice Girls, Aqua, Boyz II Men, Westlife, and Blue, but most of all, I was notably addicted to Spice Girls. Perhaps, it was all about their stature and fame that I was hooked with their popular hits like 2 Become 1, Wannabe, Viva Forever, and Stop. These songs enlivened my childhood especially that this group also complemented their music with colorful outfits, those that would really dazzle the audience especially the young ones. Moreover, their songs were groovy and had the element of recall which made them easier to memorize. As a child, I would love to hear songs that make me happy, groove, and smile. These songs influenced my childhood in such a way that they became part of my everyday routine. During weekends, I played their CD all throughout the day that no wonder, the CD had tantrums once in a while. Adolescence Stage When I entered high school, the music industry was even livelier. Rock bands, talent search singers, and veteran hit makers continue to make songs for mass consumption, most especially that the Internet was on its hype, and almost all music released or are presently hitting the waves are very much available online. I still adore U2, The Fray, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Calling. Notice the shift from being so obsessed with an all-female group to alternative rock bands. Nevertheless, I started to appreciate the music of The Calling. My adolescent music life was filled with vigor with this band on my A-list. My preference to their music was not in any way a matter of ‘going with the flow’ as most teenagers were head-over-heels with rock bands. It was because I recognized this band’s passion to write songs that reflect strong emotions, most notably songs that contain sincere messages about being in-love and standing strong against the odds of being in a relationship. I was magically transported to another dimension of the world when I heard the song ‘Stigmatized’ by The Calling. When one is in the adolescent stage, all you think of is making the most out of life. Surely, one manifestation of living life as if it is the world’s end is by being in love. ‘Stigmatized’ reflects teenagers drive to make a relationship work, despit e all the circumstances stopping the possible romance to bloom. The melody brought by the acoustic guitar and the intense vocal prowess of the lead singer make the song more of a personal conversation rather than a compilation of words and melody. Certainly, this song has been part of my youthful years. Comforting Music There is this beauty not found in every note and lyric of the song but on the general properties of music (Cook & Everist, 1999). Music comforts us through the whole impact of the song and not in every syllable or