Biologically speaking there is only one kind of race in the world, the human race. All humans are different in one-way or another, whether its size, shape, or color. Many people find themselves to be unsure or unaware of what it really means to identify with their race or ethnicity. Some feel that their race is of great importance while others feel it is not. Culture is learned through our daily life experiences, complicated, conflicting and contradictory, and comparative because it is learned through interactions with other people. The interactions we have with others are performances within a public area, its something we never think about until we are put in a situation where we then realize our differences. The knowledge we have come to know about race and ethnicity we have learned through our daily constant social interactions. In school I learned that race refers to a person's physical appearance such as skin, eye, and hair color and ethnicity relates to cultural factors such as nationality, language, and beliefs. The concepts of race and ethnicity are socially constructed their consequences are real. Their effects on the social world today can be seen anywhere from our own experiences, in the news and media and from our peers. It wasn't until college where I've come to view my own sense of identity and the identity of others.
As a kid I grew up in a mostly white, upper middle class neighborhood where race or ethnicity wasn't something I had to constantly be aware of. My mother raised my brother and I to always respect others and treat them, as you would want to be treated. In elementary school is when I noticed how others were different from me. Some of my peers had different hair texture, skin color, and facial features than me. I would notice these differences but never pay much attention to it. We are all different in our own ways but that doesn't mean anyone should be treated with less respect or judged on their differences.
