Culture plays a major role in the development of minds now days. From things such as certain locations to skin color, everybody is impacted by their culture in some way. It affects the way people act, the way they dress, what they eat, who they associate themselves with, who or what they worship, etc. Truman Burbanks is a perfect example of how people are subject to their environment, and in some ways my life is like his.
Growing up, my parents sheltered me a lot. I never really got to do some things kids my age got to do as far as like staying the night at a friend’s house. The main cause of it was my mom being so overprotective. She would always worry about something happening to me so I hardly ever went anywhere at all. She shaped my life into what she thought was best just like Truman was shaped by Marlon. She thought she was giving me a perfect life, and I do have to credit her for all she did and still does for me, but I wasn’t actually doing what I really wanted to do. My life wasn’t truly my own until I came to reality in middle school. That’s when I started figuring out certain things weren’t as they seem just like when Truman started catching on to the loop every morning. It’s amazing when you realize the truth from the lies.
All my life, and partially now, I have followed my parent’s script in some way. I’m not saying I did everything they said and behaved the way they wanted me to but I did have to follow some rules. Just like how Truman’s life was basically scripted, so was mine. I had the same schedule every day because that’s what they told me was right. Go to school, come home, eat dinner at this time, come inside at this time, go to bed at this time, etc. It was literally a schedule created by my parents because it’s what they thought was right. Like I said though, that was the case up until middle school. I found out I could control my own schedule a lot more than before and I would take advantage of it. Normally I would be home right after school but I started going to my friend’s house without my mom’s permission. Just like when Truman was trying to get onto the elevator and saw the film crew and got a glimpse of reality, I did the same.
My freedom has been controlled by my parents my entire life. Everything I did was something my mom and dad wanted me to do. Everywhere I went they were taking me to and from. Anytime I wanted to do some sort of extra-curricular activities they had to approve. I was denied some things I wanted to do simply because it wasn’t what my parents wanted me to do. That was all the way up until, again, middle school; that’s when I really started to stretch my limits and started to follow my own script for some things. Just like Truman finally discovered his world wasn’t real, I discovered these lies my parents filled my head up with weren’t true.
One major thing was that my parent’s didn’t really have a lot of black friends nor did they listen to rap or hip hop while I was growing up. They despised the black rap culture and everything that came along with it. Well I found it interesting and I liked it. I always saw the attractive females and all the money and the nice cars. So I started listening and feeding into it and they always told me to “Turn that n—– shit off” and it really kind of struck me a funny way because I saw nothing wrong with it. I know of other people just like me whose parents also hated the whole idea of rap and hip hop and the lifestyles rappers and artists lived. It made us come together as friends somewhat because of our similar experience.
People seek routine more times than they embrace change. People find comfort inroutine because it’s familiar. People don’t like change because it’s unknown. They want security, and if things are constantly changing then they can’t feel secure. I know that I personally seek routine because I hate when things are always changing. I like to know exactly what’s going on and I like to know things will be the same no matter what. Change just screws everything up. During my childhood, I had a neighbor named Courtney. She was my best friend. We played together every day, we went to this creek to catch crawfish in the woods near our houses, and just did everything. Her parents were good friends with my parents and everyone got along just fine.
Well, one day Courtney’s father told her they were moving to Wilmington and before I knew it they were gone. A couple months go by and someone finally buys the house Courtney and her family used to live in. My family and I were so excited for our new neighbors hoping they were as cool as the previous. Boy we were wrong. These new neighbors are the most stuck up and unfriendly people we had ever lived next to. It was literally the complete opposite of my childhood best friend and her kind family. So because of that, I started staying inside a lot more, avoiding the pricks next door. I didn’t want to accept them as my neighbors so I stayed in a familiar place which was my room. So I can attest for the whole idea of people seeking routine because I myself am a routine-seeker.
Overall, people’s lives are impacted by culture. Some people are impacted more than others, but it does affect everyone. Everything about your environment has its own way of controlling what you do whether it’s the place you live, the color of your skin, or the religion you choose to worship. They all have significant roles in the how you develop as a person. I think if it wasn’t for people being controlled by their environment then it would be hard to really be an individual because people can take what’s around them and use it to better their independent lives rather than having it completely strip their individualism and uniqueness in society.
