Dominique Dickens
1/27/15
Professor Sylvia
Draft 1
Diversity Autobiography
Our personal experiences, family, culture and religion to name a few, are just a few
small examples on how we as humans interpret the world, as well as shape our worldview.
According to the text, sharing an identity implies that we actively engage part of our being in
order to identify with a certain group (Liu, 58). I classify myself as belonging to many groups in
which I form an identity. What has shaped my worldview on life would have to include my
parents, politics, my environment, friends and experiences. As for my parents being an
interracial couple when I was younger, also had much impact on my worldview perspectives.
My mother, Veronica Calkins was born and raised in the Southern part of Inglewood, California.
Her parents moved to a little town in Northern California called Oroville. On my grandmothers
side some family was Scandinavian and Irish. On my grandfather’s side some had Irish, German,
and Austrian throughout generations. My mom was an only child who was very talented at
playing the violin with her grandmother. My mom joined the Navy in 1990, which had her
stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, where she eventually met my dad. My dad Darrick Dickens is
African American and is the youngest out of three. My dad was brought up in a single-parent
home with one brother and one sister. My dad is from Franklin, Virginia, a small town where
everybody knows each other. My dad always participated in sports such as track, football,
basketball, wrestling, and many more, however he found his passion in track. He set and broke
records all throughout high school. He had several college offers and scholarships, however he
was finically unstable. My dad joined the navy then ended up becoming a merchant marine.
When my parents started dating it was still considered deviant having interracial couples. For
my parents to be an interracial couple it wasn’t surprising when we would receive looks and
stares from others at times. Eventually, I started to understand why we gained so many looks. It
was considered deviant behavior.
As for myself, I’ve been an only child for my whole life, until recently founding out that I
have younger half-brother. My environment has shaped my worldview because I’ve witnessed
and experienced both the positives and negatives of my community and neighborhood. My
friends also have influenced my worldview. I’m from Virginia Beach, so my mentality was very
different when I came to Marymount for the first time. Meeting different people from all over
the world when I came to college impacted my perspective of the world in many aspects. It was
a new experience learning and meeting others and also understanding their views on life.
Interacting with others definitely kept me open- minded. Coming from different areas of the
world is amazing because of what an individual is able to learn and obtain. As individuals we all
have some form of identity or group we identify with. The components that make up my
identity would include athletics, college student, homosexual, an only child and 21 years of age
to name a few.
All these components make up my identity as well as the groups I identify myself with.
As a student athlete my lifestyle is quite different from a non-athlete student, which in cases
has shaped my perspective on the world. For example I use sports to relate them to real life
situations. Being homosexual in today’s society has greatly impacted my perspective. It really
makes me appreciate myself for who I am regardless of others’ opinions. From being an only
child to having a younger brother made me start thinking about more responsibility. It makes
we want to work that much harder strictly so my brother can be in good circumstances as he
gets older. I’m more independent since I was an only child compared to having a sibling .I never
felt dependent for a person. As 21 year old in college my mind frame is definitely more focused
on my future and career. My mentality is different compared to a freshman in college so I see
the world differently from them especially since I will graduate. It’s amazing seeing not only
physical changes but also the growing stages. All the groups I have identified myself has
impacted my worldview for both the positive and negative.