LBST 330 – Response Paper #2

I am a 20 years old. I am in my third year of Liberal Studies at Capilano University. I live in North Burnaby and have lived in the Lower Mainland for my entire life. My cultural background is Fijian and I grew up in a Catholic household. I am the eldest of four siblings. These are the most basic facts about me, but all of these specifics about my background and life will shape how my prospective project will be developed. As I have grown up within these particular circumstances I already know I will have somewhat of a subconscious bias going forward with my research projects. An example of this can be foreseen in my next tutorial. In my tutorial I plan on researching the concept of happiness and how to obtain it through a psychological perspective. One of the branches of psychology that I hope to research my topic through is the psychology of religion and spirituality. Researching my topic through this perspective will definitely help further develop my ideas, but the primary reason I am interested in looking at the connection between religiosity and happiness is due to the fact that I was raised within a religious family and attended both a Catholic elementary and high school.  Here it is clear how my past experiences have shaped my current and future ideas.

My current line of interest lies within the realm of understanding the concept of happiness and how to achieve it. This interest stemmed from my experiences undergone while travelling.  I have had the privilege to volunteer in Kenya Africa where I met inspirational individuals who embodied happiness although they lacked material goods. I also had the privilege to do a study abroad in Okazaki Japan where everyone I met seemed to have an abundance of happiness, but after the completion of a project I was shocked to discover that Japan actually had one of the highest suicide rates in the world! Both these experiences made me think deeply on the subject of human emotion which ultimately led me to develop my interest on happiness. This interest has shaped the foundation of my next tutorial which as stated before is understanding the concept of happiness through a psychological perspective.

The role of temporality plays an important role in my future research direction. As I am living in this present moment in the year 2017 my research collection, interpretation, and overall explanations will be much different than if I conducted research at any other moment of history. For example, my next tutorial on the concept of happiness would be much different if done in the 1970’s.  As the 1970’s was a decade full of experimentation with drugs, and new and emerging technological advances, both the definition of happiness and the way I would use technology to research the concept would be quite opposite from my research today.

My cultural background definitely plays a role in shaping the way I think and interpret research. I have been born and raised in the lower mainland of British Colombia and I identify as Canadian. Because of my social location the measurements of happiness I use in my research and studies will differ than if I was a member of a different society immersed within a different culture. For example, although not solely dependent on this one factor, as a North American I may associate some level of happiness to the possession of material goods whereas if I was a member of the Tibetan culture I may in turn associate a certain level of happiness to the lack of material possessions.

Going forward with my future tutorials and graduating project I will have to keep in mind that multiple viewpoints may be necessary in fully understanding concepts. This being said, my personal perspective is unique and valuable so I will use my past experiences and understandings as a source of possibilities for my projects.