As I had stated earlier one of the reasons Arpita and I became best friends was because we were both ethnically identical. This identity allowed us to help each other deal with the pressures of the 'American identity' which in high school you basically have to absorb to be socially accepted. This type of cross-cultural identification is discussed by Hazel Markus and Shinobu Kitayama. Since most non-American cultures promote an interdependent sense of self its difficult for children to deal with the ideas of self independence pushed by American society. There study finds that when children have to go through a dual ethnicity and cultural up bringing they can develop serious problems such as lack of social development and fear of failure. In my case I believe I was fortunate to have Arpita and vice-versa to help each other try and understand what aspects of both cultures we should adopt.
After reading about the development of friendships throughout middle childhood and adolescences I wish that I had known this stuff when I was going through these changes.
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