My friend group at SG is one of the most diverse groups of people I think any boarding school has ever seen which may be the reason we are the most accepting and friendly group of kids on campus. There are about 12 of us combined, girls and boys, consisting of a few white American boy and girls, a black girl from Africa, a girl from Beijing, a girl from Paris, a girl from Vietnam, a boy from Taiwan, a girl from Afghanistan, and many locations. Along with these different backgrounds people come with different beliefs and many of these beliefs conflict with one another. Occasionally when I am hanging out with my friends I question why I am with them because I feel so different from them, I'm not a theater person, nor am I politically near any of them. I always am able to answer myself when that thought arises and my answer is, "because although you don't fit in with them, you like how they are the nicest people you've ever met. They aren't the "jerks" who flood the rest of the school. The influence of the group not only affects me, but also the whole community." .
I've never really thought of how being a part of a diverse group is difficult because it has been what I do normally. This question did give me a nice perspective on how I conduct myself whenever I am in such diverse groups. I believe one of the biggest challenges I have had to learn to handle and that other people face in diverse belief groups and diverse cultural groups, knows what you can say around certain people. I have made this mistake before and still rarely say something that may offend another. Thankfully the people in my group are well educated both in the classroom and socially, so what could have been a very heated argument often turns into a discussion where we learn a lot about each other that we didn't previously know. I believe the only way to overcome this challenge people can run into is by learning as much as you can about your fellow peers and knowing how to say something even if controversial, in a way where no one will take offense to it.
