learntoquestion ltq discussions

Our identities are exceedingly complex and ever-changing. They are shaped by our experiences, beliefs, and surroundings. Some parts of our identities are developed when we are young and remain, while others change over time. For instance, when I was little my favorite colors were pink and purple, now my favorite color is blue. However, when I was around the same age my favorite animal was a lion, which remains true to this day. But identity goes much deeper than just one's favorite color or animal. Identity is who one is at their core.

While looking at each person’s individual identity vessels, I was struck by how drastically different the inside and outside of most people’s vessels were. It was almost as if people felt that the way others viewed them was completely different from how they saw themselves. This reminded me of my own difficulties with my brainstorming process for my own identity vessel. I had no idea how others saw me and I felt, like others expressed in their statements, that people felt negatively about me. I wasn’t sure what others could tell about me. I also felt that, in a way, the things that were the most important to me were the hardest for others to see. I think this is because when you open yourself up you make yourself open for attack, so, as a protective mechanism, I have learned to keep what I care about the most close to my chest.

I was very surprised by some of my peers' identity vessels. Most of the people in my class I have known since 7th grade, some even longer, but I felt that there were things in even the people I knew the best vessels that brought to light new information. Additionally, although I didn’t realize it at the time, as Tatum points out, “in the areas where a person is a member of the dominant or advantaged social group, the category is usually not mentioned. That element of their identity is so taken for granted by them that it goes without comment.” I don’t recall that anyone wrote that they were white, male, straight, or rich. To be honest, none of these categories even came to mind while I was brainstorming my vessel. This project has made me think deeply not only about my identity and how I see myself but also about why I see myself in that way, which in some ways is even more important.

Reading the vessel statements gave me a more authentic slice of my classmates’ voices than I’ve ever gotten in my time at BLS. It was a much needed reminder to me that quieter classmates have loud identities. By loud I mean expressive, unapologetic, funny, sassy: whole. As a person who is louder, and basically acts the same around everyone, I can often forget that a lot of people shield parts of their identity, but are just as complex. For example, when I was reading a former elementary school’s statement and looking at her vessel, I was surprised at how similar our voices were. I knew we were both similar enough on the surface level - nerdy and musical - but the way we thought about the world and ourselves was eerily familiar. It’s odd to realize our thought processes aren’t completely unique and people all around us have had those same “aha” moments that come to define our self identity.

It’s very interesting to think about how forgetting that quieter people are just as expansive can lead to negative consequences. In “How Social Media Shapes Our Identity”, Nausicaa Renner tells the story of Ghyslain Raza, aka “Star Wars Kid” whose video of himself pretending to swing a lightsaber became viral. As he shares in a documentary clip, this created immense bullying at school, and since he wasn’t loud or confident enough to shrug nerding out as just one part of him, his identity - both inner and outer - became centered around this one clip. When people saw him they only saw that tiny slice of him, and he likely started seeing himself like this too. He became pinned to one moment, and that moment, thanks to the internet, was viewed, manipulated, and shared around the world. Lacking the voice to scream, he simply suffered.

Our individual identities are incredibly complex. There is no one way to define a human being, as while we grow and learn more about ourselves and the world, we find new ways to express what makes us, us.

Many people will find connections culturally, or through some bond to a racial, ethnic, religious or other group that they pertain to, as it allows for them to relate some of their own experiences to other people who have undergone similar ones. As I was viewing the other students’ identity vessels, I noticed this was a common theme. Some students had roots in the Caribbean, others in Vietnam, others still right here in the U.S. It is clear that background can be very meaningful to many different people.

An insight into how this identity aspect takes place in other groups of people is highlighted in The Complexity of Identity: Who Am I? by Beverly Daniel Tatum: “Common across these examples is that in the areas where a person is a member of the dominant or advantaged social group, the category is usually not mentioned. That element of their identity is so taken for granted by them that it goes without comment.”. According to Tatum, in contrast with those in minority groups, privileged people do not bring up their own race/sex/orientation etc. because society already revolves around those dominant cultures, and thus they are internalized.

Here I would like to suggest a slightly contrasting perspective. I believe that there is a social pressure associated with placing “white” for example, among one’s identity when shared with others, since it gives the sense that they might stand with the fact that they are white to such a degree that they believe that being white is a quality that sets them above other people; a behavior akin to white supremacy with which most people would not like to be associated. Perhaps it is a stretch, but that is how I see it. And while some of those people might not have more interesting qualities to bring up anyways, usually they do.

All of this stems from how we see ourselves with regards to the social norms of the time. Had, for example, white supremacy and oppression on behalf of white people never become a widespread phenomenon, such fear of association might never have existed and personal identity would likely be formed around the basis of personal experiences and interests, as it does for the privileged class already.

It is hard for me to speak for everyone when I talk about how “we see others” but I think it typically depends on the type of person and the situation that the observer finds themselves in. For example, if being in a physical space can be associated with an interest that is shared between the individual and the other(s), then perceptions may be swayed in a more positive light.

In conclusion, we should never judge a book by its cover. The more often we take the time to learn about a person or idea, the more effectively and justly we can consider their actions and/or principles.

Individual Identity and our social choices are both tightly connected and also capable of presenting differently. Social choices are made based on individual identity. In other words, the makeup of one’s inner characteristics and values is a driving force that impacts making decisions in society. However, many social choices are a reflection of a slightly separate identity of how someone wants to be seen by this society, as opposed to what makes up individual identity on the inside. “Who am I?” an article written by Beverly Danial Tatum, says, “The answer [to who I am] depends in large part on who the world around me says I am.” Since outward appearances and perception is such a big part of determining one’s identity, social choices are made not only based on individual or inward identity but also on making outward appearance favorable to how one wants to seem to the outside world.

During the Identity Vessel gallery walk, I learned a great variety about my classmates. For classmates I previously knew, I was able to make sense of their outward identities based on my own perceptions of their identity. For those that I was unfamiliar with, it was more surprising to see the difference between what goes into their inner and outer identities. A particular point of interest was that cultural identity has a place in both the inner and outer parts of the Identity Vessels. In Mark Snekvik’s statement, he talked about how people were fascinated over what to label him as ethnically because of his mixed Norwegian and Chinese background. He explained that stemming from this, the thought process of thinking people shouldn’t have such an obsession over race was part of his inner identity. Additionally, Max Deitch had one ethnic background as part of his outside identity and another on the inside. The Jewish aspect of his identity remained on the inside of his vessel because in general, people tended to label him as his other ethnicity because his appearance was more stereotypically similar to this ethnicity. Society’s need to label an ethnicity as part of thinking about a person is a topic that connects to the idea of Us vs. Them Ideology.

Our identities can be affected by hundreds of varying factors, and are always changing. I feel that someone's identity can change dozens of times throughout their life because of family, friends, interests, environment, and other things. I noticed that what influenced my peers the most was their friends and family. During my walk around the Identity Vessels I noticed that everyone is deeper than the surface level. A quote from How Social Media Shapes Our Identity by Nausicaa Renner supports the idea that many things can be influential to our identity, “This practice can be hugely beneficial. New technology—especially the smartphone—allows us to produce a narrative of our lives, to choose what to remember and what to contribute to our own mythos.” Social media helps us create their identity in our mind and when reading accompanying statements, I was so surprised to read that Jadon B. was an activist who campaigned with parties like Obama and Sanders.

I would say in today’s time, it is a lot more acceptable to be who you know you are than 80-100 years ago. Society does limit our ability to change and grow in our identities but I think it mostly hinders our ability to express ourselves. A quote from our notes on 9/18/23 proves that, “Normative conformity results from wanting to appear ‘normal’ and a fear of peer rejection or punishment” People would rather be in the majority. I think it is important to be who you are and just surface level concepts won’t show that.

I think our individual identities are all very different but similar. That is a very contradictory statement but of course our identities are all different because we have all had different experiences and we are all different people but there are many similar aspects. For example There were a lot of music references in many of the vessels that I looked at but it was presented in different ways. One person that used a shoebox as a vessel, created a whole shrine to the music that they love and put it inside because they considered it a major part of their identity. Another person just made their vessel a Taylor Swift vinyl because they love Taylor Swift and really connect with her. Both these people consider music a part of their identity but presented it in completely different ways. This aspect of music also presents the idea that our identities are very malleable. Music is something that is very influential and can shape a person's identity, as shown by many vessels. If that one person never had listened to Taylor Swift they would probably be a very different person. Our experiences as we grow shape the people we are and that's why everyone is so different. I think our identities are ever changing because as humans we experience so much change in our life that affects us. With that change we usually come out as different people and learn from our experiences. The people we know now could have been completely different years before or might be completely different years later. Our environment is a major factor of who we are and it can really change how you view yourself and the world. It is just natural for people to change because if we all stayed the same then there would be no personal growth and we could never learn from our past. A human body is meant to change based on its environment so it only makes sense if our personalities change with it. People don’t realize how much one interaction or one day could change you. As humans we are very social creatures so being around people is like a necessity. The people you associate yourself with can change who you are and technically you would sometimes change just to fit in. So that change could be purposeful but it could also be forced on you through societal pressures like a trend or peer pressure. If you have a more negative personality you could tend to say more negative things and be around people that feel the same way as you. But if you are a more positive person you could see the world in a completely different way and make different social choices that fit you. Every aspect of one’s personality can dictate the choices you make because in the end choices are the true reflection of who you are. Our personal and social identities are different because people tend to present themselves in a better way than they feel. I noticed in a lot of people’s vessels the inside of how they view their identity was most commonly negative and compared to the identity that other people saw it was very positive. I noticed that people tend to view themselves in a more negative light and tend to focus on their flaws rather than what's good about them. What I found crazy was how opposing the opinions were from oneself and from other people. Others usually saw everything good about a person and gave positive feedback while a person would feel something completely opposite about themself. I saw a lot of people talking about this in their reflection because they also noticed how different their social and personal identities were.