The Beauty of Diverse Perspectives by Sophia

The Beauty of Diverse Perspectives by Sophia - March 2024 Scholarship Essay

While it is definitely isolating at times, I think that having had the experience of working with so many different people that have different perspectives has been an important point of growth for me. Perspectives hold the present take-aways of our past experiences and the environments we grew up in. Our different perspectives make us unique and fascinating, and without them our world would be boring and lack creativity. There is so much beauty to perspective even though it can be challenging to navigate at times.

Throughout my life I’ve consistently been surrounded by people with different perspectives than my own. I grew up in an environment where I never felt fully connected to or accepted by any stereotypical groups of shared perspectives. This might’ve been due to a combination of socioeconomic factors, personality traits, etc. I’ve always been a little bit counterculture which easily makes it less likely to generally share perspectives. Either way, I think I’ve learned to adapt to working with people that have different perspectives than me because of this.

When working with people that have different overall perspectives than my own, I’ve learned to approach projects and even simple interactions with an open mind and a kind heart. Learning to decenter myself when working and interacting with people that have different perspectives than me has been a key point of growth as I continue to enter new spaces and meet new people. I’ve been able to learn so much from people that have different perspectives than me which has helped me grow into the person I am today. I’ve been driven to develop communication skills that I continuously build upon as I encounter situations where I interact with people that have different perspectives. It has been an intricate and challenging process to grow skills to better approach projects and interactions with people that have varying perspectives, but every experience has contributed to my growth as an individual and as a member of my community. I am truly grateful for that.