Lifestyle Contact Zone

Samantha Johnson

A contact zone, defined by Mary Louise Pratt is a social space in which cultures meet and clash with each other. The best example of a contact zone that I have come across may seem very diminutive, but I feel as though it may fall into the parameters of the slightest, most minute of the that of a cultural clash-- that of my boyfriend’s way of life versus my way of life. My boyfriend and I have been together for a little over two years now, with break-ups here and there, of course. But what seems to be one of our biggest problems is our two drastic ways of life.

Growing up in what you can call a conservative family, I was always raised to try my very hardest through my early academic years. Though I never was one who received money as bribery for straight A’s, I always managed to achieve the honor roll. As I was taught, my long-term goal, which I was expected to fulfill, was to enter into college to continue on with my academics. Don’t get me wrong, my parents are and were very supportive of anything and everything that I wanted to do, but college was something that seemed to be expected of me.

Once I met what would be my future boyfriend, I realized that everything that was ever instilled in my brain was very close to being the polar opposite of what was instilled in his. Ever since his father was small, his family opened a very successful automotive garage. Growing up, his father never stressed the importance of a college degree as did mine. The long-term goal that was expected of him was to one day carry out the business just as his father has for his Grandfather. So, for him school was never a very significant part of his life, as it was and still is in mine. In addition, it seems as though it is very hard to communicate with him about subjects I learn in school. Once again, another lesson I learned while growing up was the desire to learn. My parents always stressed the importance of knowledge, and I came to agree with them when it turned out that I was one of the minority of kids who actually enjoyed school. So nowadays, it seems that my world revolves around writing papers and reading and studying Criminal Justice as it pertains to law; whereas, his world is full of working on cars and reading car magazines. Though this may seem minute, it is our lifestyles that vary so much.

I am now a twenty-year-old sophomore in college, juggling schoolwork and a job. Whereas, he is a twenty-one-year old working full time living at home. Because he works over ten-hour days, and I attend classes roughly three hours a day, the thought of understanding each other's lifestyles seems unimaginable. Of course, I see my lifestyle as being much more difficult than his-- spending hours upon hours of homework a night, and working about twenty hours a week. But all he sees are my occasional naps and fooling around with my roommates. This small contact zone that we encountered continues to be a problem in our relationship. He has come to learn that though my lifestyle may be far different than his, I still have my hardships too. And because I have never worked full-time for more than two months, I have come to reason how tiring and monotonous his workdays are. We have matured to try our very best to explain each other’s lifestyle in hopes that one day they may intertwine. Though many couples may experience this slight contact zone when two people try and have a life together, it seems like the best example I have of trying to translate my way of life to another.