hello okay has someone ever asked you
where are you from and you didn’t really
know what to say
if I ask the question where are you from
a few decades ago maybe when my parents
were still my age I would have gotten an
immediate one-word answer usually people
died in the same small village or town
in which they were born barely leaving
the state they grew up in however as we
see a more global modern world the
answer through that seemingly simple
question becomes more complex where am i
from
is where I’m from the place where I was
born the place where my parents were
born is where I’m from the place I have
citizenship for or a residency permit
well sometimes when people ask me the
question where are you from I just stand
there and the thing for getting
everything around me like introducing
myself hello everyone my name is Athena
Bonner I’m a ninth grader here at gems
American Academy and currently live
right here in Abu Dhabi if someone
really does ask me where are you from I
always say my mothers have Bulgarian
half Greek and my father’s half German
and half Hungarian but I was born in
Hamburg Germany so I’m a hamburger not a
cheeseburger like I’m not even kidding
this has been my standard reply for as
long as I can remember but for a long
time now this was this one topic
something very close to my heart has
been popping into my head
internationalism and how it changes the
world how it changes society but hey
society that’s a very broad and complex
concept so in order to really analyze
how this is influencing our lives we’ve
got to break it down now whether you
like it or not the physical aspect of
human nature is a very important part of
our society the first part of society
that you can actually see and
acknowledge with your eyes thanks to a
more diverse population we start to see
a more colorful group of people
with different body shapes clothes and
facial features not only is this
changing our communities but is also
loosening the harsh beauty standards set
previously now it’s not just one hair
color one skin tone or one eye color
that is deemed as beautiful but the
different appearances and uniqueness of
each and every individual is starting to
become the true beauty of our society
unfortunately as most things go there’s
also a negative side to the
interconnections between our physical
appearances and the growing range and
mix of nationalities some especially
young children fall victim to bullying
due to how they look different than the
rest of their neighborhood one example
was me the school where I started first
grade in Germany was very small and not
open-minded at all at most there were
five nationalities in the entire school
with the majority of course being
Germans I was often mocked because I had
dark hair and dark eyes and how my
parents look so different from their
parents now that I think about it it
seems so silly to bully someone just
because they look a bit more I guess
Eastern European than you but back then
it really really did hurt me exactly
this is the reason why you as parents
and educators need to teach kids
acceptance and tolerance so that by the
time they grow bit older they already
have the morals and ethics
of an in of an open-minded individual
the physical aspect of society isn’t the
only one influenced by the growing
multiculturalism in our fast-paced world
a key way to understanding how we are as
a global community is understanding the
emotional side of things now you might
be wondering how are my emotions and my
feelings related to a more multicultural
planet well in my mind emotions our
feelings are extremely valuable to
understanding a group of people and the
way they relate to others especially to
foreigners in this day
an age where concepts like technology
and migration have such significance in
shaping lives we are forced to see
different perspectives and are forced to
adapt to people with different
backgrounds wait a minute
I don’t like how I use the word forced
in my last sentence it makes it sound
like a like a bad thing that we are
evolving and expanding our horizons it’s
not a negative thing at all
but an opportunity to create more
open-minded independent yet united
leaders not just leaders in business or
politics but normal people who stand up
for equal human rights even with their
family and friends unfortunately as I
said previously there are always two
sides of things the good and the bad see
that that’s me this year we’re
presenting Bulgaria in our schools
International Day a few years ago
something very similar to this was held
at school but only one student from each
country could carry their national flag
of course there was a huge scandal about
who should carry the German flag and
some people and I got into a fight over
it you know what they told me when I
said I wanted to carry the flag they
told me you’re not German enough first
of all who decides what it takes to be
German enough or American enough or
Emirati enough for any other nationality
for that matter who is this person this
big boss who like pushes people into
these categories like um well this guy’s
American this one fits the description
of an Italian and now pretend this is me
well she’s not German enough I’m
Bulgarian not really Hungarian well nah
Greek now guess who this big boss really
is it’s the stereotypes that we as
humans have brought upon ourselves over
time we are the ones who unknowingly do
this sending our new generation onto the
wrong path the third aspect of how our
lives are being influenced by the
modernization and globalization which is
shape
the very world we live in today is the
social side of things as humans we’ve
always been social always communicating
in one shape or form a few years ago we
communicated using letters and postcards
which have been replaced by snapchat and
Instagram
why because social media is global
allowing us to connect with people all
over the world as internationalism
Glaros but the most significant thing
that is influencing the social side of
the world today is the growth and
spreading of languages languages are
they’re beautiful and the way they
convey messages has such a personal
level and have the ability to truly bond
us as international individuals together
personally I’m learning four languages
Spanish Arabic Hungarian and Greek and
can fluently speak German Bulgarian and
English however that wasn’t always the
case
actually five or six years ago I could
only count to the number 12 in English
that all changed when I stepped foot
into my grade five classroom in this
very building immediately I was welcomed
by this amazing teacher who not only
completely understood what I was going
through in this brand-new environment
but also talked to me and treated me
like an equal
that’s the first English word she ever
taught me awesome
she wrote it down on the first day of
school and I’ve always kept the piece of
paper close to me because it represents
the kindness of strangers and most
importantly Rian reminds me every single
day what a good hearted and open-minded
society I live in now if there’s one
thing I learned over the course of my
life is that I’m not really German I’m
not really Bulgarian I’m not really
Greek and I’m not really Hungary and so
what exactly am i well just like you and
you and you and the other seven billion
five hundred and nine
million nine hundred and fifty one
thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight
people living on this planet right now
I’m a global citizen of the world
realizing that and not putting myself
into these boxes or categories really
brought me into this new level of
appreciating and understanding the
complexity and diversity of our society
however this can be difficult to achieve
as we all speak so many different
languages and communicate in so many
different ways but there is one language
that everyone understands music there
comes a time when we hear a certain call
when the world must come together as one
mm-hmm
they’re all people dyin oh when it’s
time to lend a hand to life the greatest
gift of all we are the world we are the
children we are the ones who make a
brighter day so let’s start giving
there’s a choice we’re making we’re
saving our own lives it’s true we’ll
make a better day you and me thank you
so much thank you thank you
where are you from and you didn’t really
know what to say
if I ask the question where are you from
a few decades ago maybe when my parents
were still my age I would have gotten an
immediate one-word answer usually people
died in the same small village or town
in which they were born barely leaving
the state they grew up in however as we
see a more global modern world the
answer through that seemingly simple
question becomes more complex where am i
from
is where I’m from the place where I was
born the place where my parents were
born is where I’m from the place I have
citizenship for or a residency permit
well sometimes when people ask me the
question where are you from I just stand
there and the thing for getting
everything around me like introducing
myself hello everyone my name is Athena
Bonner I’m a ninth grader here at gems
American Academy and currently live
right here in Abu Dhabi if someone
really does ask me where are you from I
always say my mothers have Bulgarian
half Greek and my father’s half German
and half Hungarian but I was born in
Hamburg Germany so I’m a hamburger not a
cheeseburger like I’m not even kidding
this has been my standard reply for as
long as I can remember but for a long
time now this was this one topic
something very close to my heart has
been popping into my head
internationalism and how it changes the
world how it changes society but hey
society that’s a very broad and complex
concept so in order to really analyze
how this is influencing our lives we’ve
got to break it down now whether you
like it or not the physical aspect of
human nature is a very important part of
our society the first part of society
that you can actually see and
acknowledge with your eyes thanks to a
more diverse population we start to see
a more colorful group of people
with different body shapes clothes and
facial features not only is this
changing our communities but is also
loosening the harsh beauty standards set
previously now it’s not just one hair
color one skin tone or one eye color
that is deemed as beautiful but the
different appearances and uniqueness of
each and every individual is starting to
become the true beauty of our society
unfortunately as most things go there’s
also a negative side to the
interconnections between our physical
appearances and the growing range and
mix of nationalities some especially
young children fall victim to bullying
due to how they look different than the
rest of their neighborhood one example
was me the school where I started first
grade in Germany was very small and not
open-minded at all at most there were
five nationalities in the entire school
with the majority of course being
Germans I was often mocked because I had
dark hair and dark eyes and how my
parents look so different from their
parents now that I think about it it
seems so silly to bully someone just
because they look a bit more I guess
Eastern European than you but back then
it really really did hurt me exactly
this is the reason why you as parents
and educators need to teach kids
acceptance and tolerance so that by the
time they grow bit older they already
have the morals and ethics
of an in of an open-minded individual
the physical aspect of society isn’t the
only one influenced by the growing
multiculturalism in our fast-paced world
a key way to understanding how we are as
a global community is understanding the
emotional side of things now you might
be wondering how are my emotions and my
feelings related to a more multicultural
planet well in my mind emotions our
feelings are extremely valuable to
understanding a group of people and the
way they relate to others especially to
foreigners in this day
an age where concepts like technology
and migration have such significance in
shaping lives we are forced to see
different perspectives and are forced to
adapt to people with different
backgrounds wait a minute
I don’t like how I use the word forced
in my last sentence it makes it sound
like a like a bad thing that we are
evolving and expanding our horizons it’s
not a negative thing at all
but an opportunity to create more
open-minded independent yet united
leaders not just leaders in business or
politics but normal people who stand up
for equal human rights even with their
family and friends unfortunately as I
said previously there are always two
sides of things the good and the bad see
that that’s me this year we’re
presenting Bulgaria in our schools
International Day a few years ago
something very similar to this was held
at school but only one student from each
country could carry their national flag
of course there was a huge scandal about
who should carry the German flag and
some people and I got into a fight over
it you know what they told me when I
said I wanted to carry the flag they
told me you’re not German enough first
of all who decides what it takes to be
German enough or American enough or
Emirati enough for any other nationality
for that matter who is this person this
big boss who like pushes people into
these categories like um well this guy’s
American this one fits the description
of an Italian and now pretend this is me
well she’s not German enough I’m
Bulgarian not really Hungarian well nah
Greek now guess who this big boss really
is it’s the stereotypes that we as
humans have brought upon ourselves over
time we are the ones who unknowingly do
this sending our new generation onto the
wrong path the third aspect of how our
lives are being influenced by the
modernization and globalization which is
shape
the very world we live in today is the
social side of things as humans we’ve
always been social always communicating
in one shape or form a few years ago we
communicated using letters and postcards
which have been replaced by snapchat and
why because social media is global
allowing us to connect with people all
over the world as internationalism
Glaros but the most significant thing
that is influencing the social side of
the world today is the growth and
spreading of languages languages are
they’re beautiful and the way they
convey messages has such a personal
level and have the ability to truly bond
us as international individuals together
personally I’m learning four languages
Spanish Arabic Hungarian and Greek and
can fluently speak German Bulgarian and
English however that wasn’t always the
case
actually five or six years ago I could
only count to the number 12 in English
that all changed when I stepped foot
into my grade five classroom in this
very building immediately I was welcomed
by this amazing teacher who not only
completely understood what I was going
through in this brand-new environment
but also talked to me and treated me
like an equal
that’s the first English word she ever
taught me awesome
she wrote it down on the first day of
school and I’ve always kept the piece of
paper close to me because it represents
the kindness of strangers and most
importantly Rian reminds me every single
day what a good hearted and open-minded
society I live in now if there’s one
thing I learned over the course of my
life is that I’m not really German I’m
not really Bulgarian I’m not really
Greek and I’m not really Hungary and so
what exactly am i well just like you and
you and you and the other seven billion
five hundred and nine
million nine hundred and fifty one
thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight
people living on this planet right now
I’m a global citizen of the world
realizing that and not putting myself
into these boxes or categories really
brought me into this new level of
appreciating and understanding the
complexity and diversity of our society
however this can be difficult to achieve
as we all speak so many different
languages and communicate in so many
different ways but there is one language
that everyone understands music there
comes a time when we hear a certain call
when the world must come together as one
mm-hmm
they’re all people dyin oh when it’s
time to lend a hand to life the greatest
gift of all we are the world we are the
children we are the ones who make a
brighter day so let’s start giving
there’s a choice we’re making we’re
saving our own lives it’s true we’ll
make a better day you and me thank you
so much thank you thank you
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