When Diversity Becomes Adversity

“London is a world-class international city with people coming from diverse cultures and backgrounds. This, I believe, will allow me to enhance my communicative skills and learn to adjust myself to different environments.”

This is the sentence I used in the personal statement for applying for Imperial College London last year.

Yes, back then, I was just a little boy who always looked at the best side of living in a society which is hugely, giganticly, enormously, colossally, tremendously (whatever word you want to choose) diverse. Now, that I have seen some of the less good side, my views are changed.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not an anti-social person or a xenophobe who is scared of looking into a foreigner’s eyes. I enjoy living in a diverse society as much as many of you and I still believe that being able to adapt yourself to this kind of environment is one of the key skills to your success in professional and everyday life.

Yet, it is also this diversity that can breed problems. Being part of a diverse community can also cause a lot of pressure, and that can lead into mental breakdown or depression.

Therefore, this article will point out the dark sides of living in a highly diverse society and how to tackle with these problems.

From my experience, there are always three common problems from living in a diverse city wherever in the world.

Culture Shock

From where I’m from, bargaining the price is very common and we do it all the time. But once, I tried this in another country and the shop seller pointed the finger at me and threw me out of the shop straight away. Stunned for five seconds, I learnt later that it was considered rude to bargain the price there.

This is what I mean by culture shock and it has happened to me in London. Cultural difference is a very common thing. Even you and your siblings might prefer different kinds of music. It is normal that people from different backgrounds or origins will have different norms, and these can sometimes contradict one another quite spectacularly.

"Being a part of a diverse community can also cause a lot of pressure."

What I do to avoid this problem is to assume that people will not always approach things in the same way I do. You can be surprised but don’t be shocked. Once you do not have expectations based on your own culture, you will not be shaken or disappointed. Instead, everything you see will be a new discovery for you!

Discrimination

Racism, unfair treatment or insult, don’t let that get the best of you! In a diverse culture, people can be very judgmental of others that are different from them. This is because people can feel insecure when hanging around people they are not familiar with. So, they create a kind of barrier against the unfamiliar so that they can feel safe in their comfort zone.

Sometimes, the prejudice is not even malicious, but still painful to be misunderstood. It can be just an offhand comment that makes you wonder if you’re a walking stereotype.

Never ever let it discourage you! Remember, you did nothing wrong and have no reason to feel bad about yourself. Prove to yourself that you are not what they think you are. But if they are still ignorant of this, who cares! They’re not the only people in the world and there’re no good reasons for you to pay attention to these people for any longer.

"Sometimes I feel lost among people and feel that no one will understand me."

Loneliness

Ironically, I find that living in a place where there is a lot of diversity can often be a lonely experience. Sometimes, I feel lost among people and feel that no-one will understand me. But don’t worry! You feel that way because you’re out of your comfort zone with the people similar to you.

No-one but yourself can solve this problem. Change your attitude and create your own comfort zone in this diversity! Change from the comfort zone that consists of people from the same country into a zone consisting of people with similar interests or passions such as learning languages and playing tennis. This way, you will feel more secure by knowing that there’re still people who like the same things you do!

Living among people from different cultures and backgrounds can be difficult, especially in such diverse city like London. But if you understand problems that can occur in a diverse setting, you will be better prepared for it. I hope that this article will be useful to you and help you make the best of living in this city.