Blog Posting #1

The Individual-Cultural Dialect aims to show the relationship between an individual and their pertaining culture or subculture. Most cultures share common patterns or beliefs but it is not the case that each member fits into the same mold as everyone else. This dialect proposes that as an individual you are unique and will not always fit into every aspect of a culture you belong to.

I attended the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign for four years; it in itself is a culture. The student life is shaped and greatly impacted by the culture that this campus has. UIUC has the largest Greek System and this defiantly adds a different experience to the college culture. I wanted to be able to experience the college life and culture to the fullest, which to me meant going Greek. My sophomore year I joined a Sorority that I thought fulfilled my needs not only socially but as a student as well. By joining a sorority I was linked to a new culture which consisted of beliefs, traditions, experiences and mannerisms. Now just because I was a part of this culture does not mean that I followed every single characteristic of it, nor that I believed in all of them.

By being a member of the Greek System I did find myself in a dilemma with the Individual-Cultural Dialectic. I felt as though not all of my own beliefs matched up with this culture. A less extreme, but still present, example was the way in which members would dress and carry themselves. I had a completely different taste in style as most of my sisters and they did not always understand that. It felt as though I didn’t fully belong to the culture because I didn’t have this characteristic or certain style that everyone else did share. Although it was not a serious issue, it was still one less thing that I could take part in. The way in which I dealt with this was by seeing it as an opportunity to not blend in with my whole culture and to have a sense of individuality. To me it was something that I thought made me a unique member or this culture, which is what the Individual-Cultural Dialect presents.