#2 : Cultural Differences

This July, Accenture flew all of the rising senior summer analysts to Chicago for training in their North America training center. This conference opened my eyes to the lavish corporate culture more than any event during my internship experience. There were fancy meals every night, staying up late and working all day, free drinks all around, presents upon arrival, the whole ordeal. I was very overwhelmed by partners buying rounds of shots for interns and my first night at the pub was overwhelming to say the least. The whole thing seemed excessive and I was uncomfortable and lonely in my personal values. That first night in the midst of my discomfort was when a fellow Houston intern became one of my closest friends for the summer. He did not drink at all because he is Muslim and was raised in the middle east where it is frowned upon. His upbringing much like mine didn't encourage drinking and we therefore bonded at the pub for being sober minded and discussed his childhood and his story and I shared parts of mine. That night I remember being amazed at how different me and my friend were but how similar our actions seemed.

My unlikely close friend and I had a lot of the same actions that created our friendship but we did so based on very different belief systems. I very much believe that Jesus is the son of God and died to make me free. I therefore do not see the need to alter my thinking with copious amounts of alcohol to have a good time. A lot of people at this training did not hold this same though and pushed me out of my comfort zone in a big way. My new friend felt the same way, and we ended up having a lot of fun playing ping pong and actually getting some rest. I was definitely not in College Station bubble anymore and I was ok with it, but still very uncomfortable.

My new friend has a special place in my heart and because of the friendship we formed. I am encouraged by being in the corporate world to meet new people who I would never have the chance of meeting in a job where everyone had not only the same actions but also the same belief systems. I want to hear stories of all types of people and also share mine. The corporate lifestyle is something that can weigh on my heart because of how lavish it can be. I see the value in some of it but a lot seems like we could do more with our time or money. My friend showed me that there is much more to corporate settings than I know and that God can use me in those settings to have influence and he can attract people to me to change lives for Him.

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