Diversity Essay Showcase

Diversity: A Resource for One Another’s Education & Growth
By Megan Mae Weakland, Harmony High School, Clearfield County
Download Essay as PDF

Diversity- the one word that can describe the uniqueness and individuality in each and every one of us. It is this diversity that keeps our lives interesting and enables us to learn new things from one another. Without diversity, we would all be walking clones of each other.

It is important to respect and appreciate diversity now, in the 21st century, more than ever. We are becoming a technologically advanced society. When utilizing this technology effectively, we can connect to people and places all over the world. We can share in the experiences of their lives and learn from the knowledge they've acquired and possess.

I wholeheartedly feel differences such as color, gender, disability, age, religion, and ethnic background, to name a few, shouldn't be used as means for discrimination, but rather as a resource for appreciation and education of one another. The elderly, for example, have so much life experience and wisdom that can only come with age. They are sort of foreseers of our future, because they have already experienced what we have yet to face. If we allow them to share their wisdom with us, perhaps it will prevent us from making probable, unforeseen mistakes. The same goes for the other side of the age spectrum. When the elderly allow us to share in their lives, we bring them knowledge of things different from when they were growing up, new things such as fashion, music, food, technology, etc. These new things may not necessarily be better than before, merely different.

There are infinite types of diversity, whether it be age, color, disability, gender, religion, etc., or something more simple such as the color of one's hair or the number of piercings one has, you should never let it hinder you from getting to know them. These differences are merely superficial things, allowing us to be our own individual and unique being. We need to explore these differences, with an open-mind, so that we can all be resources for one another's education and growth.