Our Personal Cultures

As I have grown up there were things that I didn't particularly like.  I would promise myself that "when I grow up I will do this" and "I won't do that..."  It seems so silly to me now, but when I was younger I was dead serious.  Now just so you don't get the wrong idea; I grew up with wonderful parents and siblings and I am so grateful that I am part of my family.  My point is that there are parts of our cultures that we don't like, and parts that we adore.  An example of something I love in my own family is that everyone can tease and playfully talk to one another.  These remarks from each of us usually lead to laughter.  This and other aspects of my personal family culture has affected how I think and interact with other people.  I don't know if you have every had an experience where you went into somebody's house and noticed how they interacted with one another.  If that has ever happened to you, have you ever felt a little awkward?  I have and most times it wasn't even because they were doing something bad.  Just eating with a different family or friends can be strange and interesting because of differences in the family cultures(and other cultures as well) that we were raised in.  Think about your own experiences with family and friends.  As you are thinking about your own culture what would you change if you could?
Why is this important?  Well, honestly the cultures that we grow up in will continue to influence us throughout our lives and if we don't change then our children will grow up in a similar culture for better or for worse.  Another reason why understanding our personal culture is important is because it can give us important insights into the cultures of other people.  We may never fully understand why they do things, but we can definitely learn from them if we pay attention.  For example we may learn something that we want to apply to our families.  So what is your personal culture?  Lets all take some time to think about how we have been influenced by our cultures and take some time to honestly think about how we can improve ourselves.