What's your identity?

After reading the first piece by Evelyn Alsultany, all I could think about was if I was one of those people. Had I ever made someone feel so out of place that it hurt them inside? Many times I have asked people where they are from or what their background is and didn’t think anything of it. However, now I look back and think had what I asked seemed too pushy? As Alsultany put it had my, “ ‘friendly’ question turn[ed] into a claim to land and belonging”? Then I thought about times people had asked me about my background. Had I ever felt out of place because of my background or my ethnicity?

Of course most people feel like they don’t belong in certain places, but not everyone has that feeling of not belonging anywhere. I’m pretty sure everyone can think of one place where they can go and be themselves, whether it be at home, painting a picture, singing in front of a mirror, or wherever else. We can just be ourselves and not have to “fit in” with everyone else. But in reality, not everyone fits into most places. It reminds of me of last year when I took this computer programming class. I was the only girl amongst a whole class of guys. You would have thought that at least one of them would have talked to me or helped me when I had asked them questions, but instead they all acted as if I wasn’t even there. I felt unwelcome and out of place, like I wasn’t good enough to be there. But who is to say that we don’t belong?

Who is to say that our identities have to match up with others? In all three readings, Alsultany, Martin, and Clare are searching for their own identities. As Clare says, “Often it is history I turn to, history I grasp and mold in my search”. Clare talks about how she looks for teachers and heroes. She looks for someone to show her it is okay to be your own person, and that you don’t have to be like everyone else. She looks for people that have experienced what she is going through and was okay. We are all searching for our own identity, one that fits us uniquely and doesn’t fall into the same identity as certain groups.

For Eli Clare, she might look like a guy, but in actuality is a girl. Just because we look a certain way, or act a certain way doesn’t mean that’s truly who we are. It kind of reminds me of a tomato. Everyone thinks that it is a vegetable, but technically it’s a fruit. The only way a person knows a tomato is a fruit would be to study about the tomato and see what features make it they way it is. This may seem silly, but it’s true to think about. It all comes down to identity. So what’s your identity?


Here’s a funny little video to emphasize the last part. ☺