Analysis of perspectives at the Time of Conflict

Deborah Martin
UWRT 1102-038
From the beginning to the end of my story, all of the anger that was fixed on me as the
situation progressed was meaningless. I am proud of my reaction to this scenario. I believe I
reacted the way I did because I knew better by not feeding into the nonsense. I knew better
because I just acted off my true personality. Coming from my viewpoint at the time of the
conflict, I felt that the whole situation could have been avoided, and I felt that everything was
building off badly from a false accusation. My perspective was influenced by the irresponsibility
of someone. I wasnt going to let that someone provoke something out of me when all of it was
unnecessary. Considering the way my personality was, it would have been out of my character if I
reacted in a negative way.
My family played a huge role in the shaping of my opinion. I have two sisters and three
brothers. With that being said, although we grew up together, we had different personalities
certainly, but I had always been the peacemaker and mediator like my Mom. Also, out of six kids,
I was the fifth born. Growing up, I always watched how my sister got in trouble from the schemes
she pulled and how she always argued with my Mom. Being the youngest, I wasnt much of a
rebel. I was always the calm one, hence my composure in my narrative; I was not going to let
anyone punk me down, but I still was calm about the situation.
My Mom and Dad always talked about discretion, thinking before acting, and we always
studied the Bible so my siblings and I could look at situations more spiritually, which definitely is
a reason why I didnt react in a bitter fashion when I was accused of stealing the girls money, or
when I was told that the girl was plotting against me. I was just always taught to not overreact

about situations, even when I should. Other cultural factors that played a role in shaping my
opinion of the conflict were school and the consequences that would rise if the school were to get
involved. I was not going to be foolish and get arrested for a stupid fight. Even my friend that was
mentioned in the story helped shape my opinion. She stressed that I didnt need to worry about the
contention. She of course believed me and felt that the problem was out of hand and
simultaneously not of great significance, during the whole conflict. Her maturity, our friendship,
the way she was raised, in addition to her warm personality were cultural factors that influenced
her perspective.
The reactions of other characters in my narrative did vary and also changed with the flow
of the story. My roommate approached me directly and asked I stole her friends money. As soon
as she could get in touch with me, she just got right to the point. Although her approach was
straightforward, I understood her perspective: She was a close friend to both the girl who
suspected me of taking her money, and me. She just wanted to solve the problem quickly as
possible. She believed me when I told her I did not do it, and moved on. Her reaction changed
when her friend wanted to inflame the situation some more. She would harm her friend if her
friend harmed me, which is why she acted as a mediator and wanted to keep us separated to avoid
anything stirring up. Friendship was the most prevalent cultural factor that influenced my friend
and roommates actions. They didnt want anything bad to happen to me, especially if I was
innocent.
The cultural factor that influenced the perspective of the girl who was plotting to harm me
was money. She lost a lot of it and wasnt very happy. It wasnt appropriate, but I understood her
perspective too: She was angry about her money being gone, and she acted according to that

anger, but she was wrong. I believe she had a different upbringing than me. She was ready to get
physical without thought. That was her persona.
Every person in society has his or her own persona. We may experience similar
processes, however, the way we individually undergo those processes, varies. Everything
we believe in and dont believe in is learned. No one has the SAME upbringing, and the
way every person learns is different, which is why there can simultaneously different
perspectives at the exact same moment in time. Everything we see changes us a little,
everyday. The quote What you see, you become, emphasizes that from different
circumstances, people have different perspectives. As we grow, we individualize based on
how we keep those perspectives.