I'm not your typical guy

Throughout my life I have tried to be very social, demonstrate the Boy Scouts values, and I will always try to help my friends.   I was exposed to whatever my sister was doing and I always talked to others and listened to them when they needed someone to talk to. Also I became socially responsible through Boy Scouts because we did community projects and we needed to have people skills.  The Boy Scouts value system, the scout motto, the scout promise, law, and oath taught me to be kind to others, respect others, be obedient when you are working with others and be trustworthy.  Those of us who are Eagle Scouts live by this everyday.

I believe in helping others and especially my friends. When there is a friend that needs some help I will help out without any prompting. Sometimes my friends need to hold me back because I sometimes go overboard with things. 

What I was learning from my family, sports, and boy scouts I expected other guys to do the same. I would expect them to be respectful to others and be kind when others aren’t being so kind to you. In sports activities, you still need to be respectful to your opposing team; whether you win or lose, you respect them as members of a team.   For instance I witnessed a club college water polo game where one team ran up the score on a team, which was not at the same level of play.  They rubbed it into their faces and were showing off.  It was an example of poor sportsmanship and disrespect. 

I would expect anyone to be kind to others when they are going through a rough time with school, team, family, or friends. Friends can be support when someone doesn’t get support at home.  If you show support to your friends, they will return the support and friendship.

I am interested in the fine arts such as painting, sketching and playing the flute. Typically, more girls seem to play the flute and are interested in creating art.  In the sports that I play, they can be played by both genders.  

My family and Boy Scouts taught me to be respectful at all times, get along with others and to be nice to others at all times. All of this helped me to become the person who I am. If I weren’t encouraged to do all these things and my activities, I would not be the person who I am today.   

In Asian countries, there are cultural differences between male and females and how they are treated.  In China, the male comes first before the female. While in the U.S. everyone strives to be equal no matter what kind of person you are.    Personally, I can think of a gender difference due to my Grandma’s background.  She was born in China and immigrated to the United States in 1950.  She still believes in her old culture where the males are most important.  My Dad and Uncle are not like that; they are Americanized and treat girls and boys (my cousins) the same.

In school we are taught that we should be treated equally despite our differences in faith, ethnicity, sexuality.  I can see that at SHS, we have clubs and social groups that reflect these differences.  I believe that gender beliefs are looked upon equally.  If I went to visit a smaller high school in a rural area, there is less diversity and less tolerance for gender differences.  If I went to visit a school in India or China, there would be definite gender differences.

                 I have observed a ‘typical guy’ in school that tries to act smart and tough, telling unkind jokes, and saying and doing things without thinking. Guys try to act smart and tough to impress each other and girls.  They bully others to show or impress others with what they know and how tough they appear to be. 

                I have observed a ‘typical girl’ in school being mean to others.  They are verbally mean and ignore their friends or exclude them when they are mad at each other.             

                Boys and girls may act differently, but they are both showing disrespect. 

Come to think about it there is a gender difference as we found out in class this week.  The guys in the class felt awkward to play with any of the dolls and the girls were playing away with our toys that we played brought.  Is there a gender difference or is it just because what we are used to playing with?  I could play with Barbie’s because my sister had them; but I didn’t.  I chose to play with my toys.