Personal Ethics Autobiography Writing Assignment

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Ethics autobiography
As individuals, we are shaped by our environment. We are influenced by what we see, what we experience and what we are taught. Our ethics foundation comes from these. I am not any different. The roots of my beliefs were shaped by my upbringing. Being from a Christian family and in China was particularly unique. I got to notice the difference between me and my neighbors. Their practices were different from ours. Us being the minority in the neighborhood ensured we always stood out. My parents, though practicing Christians, had distinctly different views on life, ethics and what constitutes responsibility. My mother was of the opinion that as Christians, it is our duty to practice high standards of discipline and humility while at the same time not judging others. Simply loving them unconditionally. My father on the other hand had more liberal views. The idea of turning the other cheek was detestable to him. He believed in science and the practice of always asking questions and being curious. To not accepting or believing what one reads or is told. These two seemingly conflicting views are what shaped my upbringing.
Over time choices that I make have also been influenced by friends, the church and what I study in school. These other influencers help me bridge the gap. I get to work from a common ground between my dad’s and mum’s views. I remember one time having to deal with a particularly bothersome classmate. The boy used to bully me and went out of his way to make my life hard. Teachings of my mum and dad clashed inside me. They were both fighting for supremacy. This dilemma went for days and weeks until I decided to talk with my priest about it. After all, I am a Christian. Their views although different were based from the same Christian beliefs. My decision to seek guidance from the priest was a way to forge my own path towards understanding. This will firm up my Christian roots and guide my decisions. On talking to the priest, he pointed out to me that no one view is above the other. If I investigated closely, I would come up with a hybrid view that will combine best of both worlds. I would be humble but I will not be bullied by the classmate. So, I would say the base of my beliefs is all human beings are equal, with equal rights to live their lives the way they see fit. No one should be judged by the choices they make. No one should interfere with another’s life simply because they do not like the choices the other makes. All this sounded easy enough to follow. Shock on me when I relocated to United States to continue my studies.
By the time I was joining high school in America to continue my studies, the roots of my beliefs were pretty much established. Compared to America, China is a conservative society. California is the state I went. Compared to California, and San Francisco in particular, China seemed backward. The high school I joined was near San Francisco. Although it was a Christian school, I was not immune to not notice the sights and sounds of San Francisco. As we all know, this is the capital of liberal views and practices in the United States. It is the testbed of how far a view can be taken. My views of personal freed...