It's truly an honor to have you stop by and get a feel for who we are at polished culture.
It's funny because when trying to figure out what TRULY defines PolishedCulture in the beginning, we realized that what we are doing is more of a movement than a trend. Being a biracial individual with a father from Ghana, West Africa, a mother from Mexico City, and socially recognized as a black American woman born in the U.S., I have had challenges trying to identify myself growing up, thinking that I had to fit a mold that is recognized and accepted by other people. I've noticed that this is the same story for sooo many people, especially biracial or multiracial individuals that were born in America with close family from other nations. As I mature and truly appreciate my trips back home to Ghana and Mexico, I have the opportunity to learn where I come from, and the rich culture that has even influenced America in in soo many ways. I can't help but gain respect for cultures as a whole, and even more respect for those individuals not ashamed to express who they are, even if others cannot relate.
I don't consider myself the most knowledgeable individual in the world and I'm still learning everyday, but I do find it verry difficult when close-minded people aren't willing to expand, and be open to other cultures which make America what it is, and instead look at individuals as different, or crazy because they never "lost" that cultural stuff when they moved to the states.
I do feel that America as a NATION has no culture at all. Now this may sound harsh to some, but in my opinion as an American as well, is very true. While there may be groups that identify with culture within America, there is not an identifiable American Culture! There is no belief system that ALL Americans follow, there are no communal structures that help raise ALL of our youth; the next generations, there is no mandatory respect for elders as in Ghanaian culture or Women as in some Asian Cultures where the women are the breadwinners and decision makers of the household, etc. When I visit other countries, I do see how people are heavily influenced by America's HipHop culture, or 90's culture...which is cool, but if it weren't for the people from around the world who chose to move to America and call this country home, Americans who may have never had the opportunity to travel outside the U.S. would have never had a taste of what other ethnic cultures are like, and be led to believe that their way of life is the only one. Sad to say, but very true.
A movement like PolishedCulture is needed, to bring awareness to how the beauty of cultures from around the world and within America influence who we are and what we do, whether we know it or not. Let's be open to being Cultured, let's embrace other nations art, fashion, and music so we can all be culturally polished individuals!
