Question OneWhat is culture?Culture can be interpreted in multiple ways and have many different meanings to different individuals. Consequently, it is because of these facts that it is so difficult to create a definition. For some, culture derives from the meanings consumed by a social group (Lewis, 2008). Others see culture as something based on economics and servitude (Marx, cited by Lewis, 2008). Hebdige's Ambiguous Concept In an attempt to develop a personal definition of culture based on my experiences and various readings this semester, I select some common themes that have significance in my conceptualization of culture. Beliefs, values, social constructs are some of the concepts used in many definitions of culture. These terms will serve as the basic principles on which I will base my definition. For me, culture is an ideology, a relationship between social constructions and individuals. Culture results from created sets of beliefs, values, and goals that individuals derive meaning from through interpretation and use to guide interactions between themselves and their environment. My definition of culture comes from two main concepts: ideologies and social constructions. Ideology itself is a very complex concept with multiple definitions. For clarity, I refer to Althusser's concept of ideology. Althusser (as cited by Lewis, 2008) believed that ideology was a “representation of the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence”. This applies to my personal definition of culture because these imagined conditions are what constitute the beliefs, values, and goals that cultures hold to. This fictional relationship then moves on to another important part of my definition… middle of the paper… student affairs professionals, we always talk about the power of a single story. Each student is special and has their own experiences that have influenced their development. These experiences affect each student on both an interpersonal and intrapersonal level. One habit that student affairs professionals must take into consideration when studying student cultures is to never generalize a student and pay close attention to assumptions made when studying a student culture or subculture. Studying student cultures and subcultures at a macro level will help practitioners understand the experiences of large numbers of students. But as professionals, we must be careful not to generalize or introduce our own biases into our research. As clearly shown above, culture is a very complex topic. It means many different things to different people.