The Diversity Blog
About
Welcome to The Diversity Blog – a collaborative space for creative expression that celebrates and elevates the voices of second and third-generation individuals!
Here, you’ll find an evolving collection of blogs, poems, spoken word, and artwork that reflect the rich, complex identities of those navigating the intersection of heritage and modern identity.
If we’re going by definitions, Google describes 2nd and 3rd generation individuals as ‘descendants of immigrants who are born in the new country, making them part of the local culture while still retaining some aspects of their ancestral heritage‘.
University is a time of growth for so many of us, we grow, explore our independence and begin to understand who we are. But for some of us it’s a bit different. Being 2nd or 3rd generation means you have the values of the place you were born, however also your own cultural background, which can be confusing and overwhelming. You might find yourself considering where ‘home’ is for you, and what that actually means. You may view your identity as an invisible scale with your ethnicity on one end and your nationality on the other. Where do you sit on it? And how does that makes you feel?
The first blog I ever wrote about this was called ‘It’s my culture but am I doing it right?’. The message that this blog shares is the epitome of what The Diversity Blog embodies: to be proud of exactly where you lie on your invisible scale of identity, to know you are heard and your experiences are authentic. As abstract as it may seem, you are your own culture. No one else shares the exact intersections of identity that you do and this makes us all unique. The places we’ve lived, the values we hold, and the experiences we carry shape who we are today.
The Diversity Blog is a supportive and inclusive space that wants to hear all your stories if you’ve ever resonated with these feelings. It’s time to empower every individual in this community to speak up so others can listen, learn and understand. To open a dialogue about these thoughts, I created The Diversity Blog.
Submit a piece, be creative and let your voice be heard. If you’re not in this group but know someone who is, share the project with them so they have a chance to share their story too – their submission could make it here – to the website!
My name’s Shivani Gug, I’m the Education Officer at LUU and the founder of The Diversity Blog. – I hope you love it as much as I do.
