Allow Myself to Introduce Myself

Hello, my name is John Robert Williams, and I am as white as it gets. I'm a 19 year old, heterosexual male from Daphne, Alabama, who is getting a huge culture shock as it is from just attending the third most diverse university in the nation. I grew up in a fairly liberal immediate family who is linked to a pretty conservative extended family. The liberal aspect of my family is probably due to my father's career in the Coast Guard, and my mother's strong views on accepting and understanding people. My dad was born to a southern baptist family who is very strong in their beliefs. He still cherishes these beliefs, but I think his travels around the world has led to him being an accepting person instead of a close-minded hillbilly. My mother grew up in Houston, Texas, which is a pretty big and diverse city. She moved to Galveston where she met my dad while he was stationed there, and the rest is history. The background of my parents is in my opinion what molded me to become an open-minded person. Being in a Coast Guard family, I moved around a fair bit as a child. From city to city I met people who were of different ethinicities or held different beliefs. Seeing all sorts of cultures from the Atlantic to the Pacific helped me get a small understanding on how diverse this country really is. When I was nine, I moved to Daphne, Alabama, where I lived until I left for college. Daphne is a small city composed of mostly blacks and whites. Besides the occassional asian, there's not many other ethnic groups. I would say I'm a spiritual person who doesn't really believe in religion if that makes any since. I used to be a hardcore christian, but throughout the years I've drifted more and more away from religion. As for abilities and talents, I play guitar and I'm a soccer player. Those are my two main talents. Other than that I don't really excel in many other aspects. I guess besides that I don't have much to say. I'm looking forward to my cultural experience!!