It’s rare that I’ve felt like I’ve been in a place or experience that fits this description. Honestly, most of my experience in NYC fits into this, in some way. I was a member of pretty diverse communities there. Most of the city itself is diverse, and this is a big part of its beauty for sure. I’ve had similar feelings about time spent in Vancouver and London; both these cities had diverse communities, though in London I felt more on the periphery than in Vancouver or NYC. (I could say more about why; it boils down to class and socio-economic status, but these reasons are beyond the scope of tonight’s post.)<\/p>\n
I do think my desire for an ideal of abundant diversity is one of the reasons I’m drawn to a lifestyle of existential migration<\/a>: I feel a deep, visceral need to connect with people who are totally different than me. I value diversity more than many, many other things — money, fame, security, safety, and sometimes even health. Connecting with people different — on the exterior — \u00a0than myself provides me with many opportunities that I cannot imagine having experienced otherwise to discover how similar we all are — on the interior. Through our differences, we become more similar. And, the repeated discovery for me in all of this is that the human experience is universal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Tonight I went to an edgy, pushing-the-limits art show<\/a>. It was unlike anything I’ve ever been to here in Singapore. It was a show-slash-exhibit-slash-live performance space-slash-community art venue-slash-flea market. I told my friend Alaine<\/a> — the dance educator who had invited me, also a former New Yorker — that I felt like I was in Brooklyn. When the power cut out for 20 minutes, she turned to me and said, “Yep, Bushwick.”<\/p>\n The theme, displacement, was one that Singaporeans\u00a0and<\/strong> foreigners alike can relate to, and it was treated in ways I would never have dreamed, in media I’d never have considered: video, sculpture (with seeds!), textiles, music, screen printing, and the more traditional oil paints and photography. It challenged my mind.<\/p>\n And the crowd was\u00a0diverse.<\/strong> Young, old, baby, mother, child, father, singles, couples, ah lian, ah beng, hipster, executive, black, white, yellow, red, male, female, in between, French, Malay, Indonesian, English, Indian, Dutch, Chinese… I lost track. And I love that I did. I felt so\u00a0comfortable.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n I love it when communities come together like this. Diversity is good. It makes me happy. I thrive in it.<\/p>\n And I truly, in the deepest part of my heart, believe we are all<\/strong> wired to thrive in diversity. I see it as one of the biggest challenges facing our modern world, daring us to evolve.<\/p>\n I hope we take it on with grace and openness and empathy.<\/p>\n Another welcome song, different school<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I am idealist. I’ve known this for a very long time — since I was a teenager and got into arguments with my mother about reality versus the ideal. I’m very glad my mum is a pragmatist because I think … Continue reading ![\"from](\"http:\/\/farm1.staticflickr.com\/48\/139093056_55bf6cfdd4_z.jpg?zz=1\")
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