Born into a strong Asian American community in the United States, I often experienced the conflict of two cultures firsthand. While my family would continue to influence me to follow their beliefs and teachings, I would be similarly affected by school and others around me. At times, my teachers, primarily Caucasian, would have a completely different outlook on a subject than I would. In being raised in a Chinese family, I gained insight to my culture and the history of my people. In going to school, I similarly discovered new perceptions and knowledge.

Chinese? Or American? What about... both? Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140612075005-308025461-6-differences-between-teaching-chinese-kids-and-american-kids

UCLA Boelter Hall. Source: http://www.bruinsnation.com/

As a student at UCLA, this clear division is present in a more physical form. As a South Campus major, I hardly wander far from the efficient feel of the minimalist architecture. But, on rare occasions, I venture to the mysterious land of Romanesque architecture and philosophical sculptures. In doing so, I could instantly feel the Snow’s distinction between the two cultures of literature and scientific analysis.  However, despite the clear variation in subject and environment, each part of campus has had its hold on me in its own way. Despite heavy influences by South Campus, I can still appreciate the aesthetic nature of North Campus and its students.  

While I have encountered cultures on completely opposite ends of the spectrum, I’ve often taken what I consider the best of each culture and created a third, unique culture of my own. From adopting pieces of perspective from both different cultures and different campuses, I myself have become a rounded person. While I can certainly appreciate the benefits of a certain culture, I can step back and analyze it with an outsider’s opinion to generate my own subjective viewpoint. In short, I have gained my own perspective, an “independent thinking,” similar to Sir Robinson’s “divergent thinking.”

UCLA Royce Hall. Source: http://netecon.ee.ucla.edu/

Until this class, I’ve never particularly focused on the convergent aspects of my life that created this independent perspective. However, I share Huxley’s opinion in that both scientists and poets purify common language, albeit in different ways. I hope that, in the future, people can develop a combination, a third culture, and finally unite the two different cultures.

"Campus Tour." UCLA Mobile. UCLA Regents, 2010. Web. 05 Apr. 2015. <http://m.ucla.edu/tour/view.php?l=10#>.

Huxley, Aldous. Literature and Science. New York: Harper & Row, 1963. Print.

Robinson, Ken. "Changing Education Paradigms." YouTube. YouTube, 14 Oct. 2010. Web. 05 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U&feature=youtu.be>.

Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge UP, 1959. Print.

Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." Leonardo. 34 (2001): 121-125. Print.