February Blog Post

"Who we are is the result of our repeated, patterned human actions; as socially produced selves, our identities are always in the process of becoming" (Warren, et. al., 2015, p 111).

The ways by which identity and perception form is interesting. In general, people identify themselves in social terms, perhaps by their multiplicity of role playing in the world. They may be a sister, a wife, a mother, an artist; fill in the bank. Then there are the social categories that we are placed into; race, ethnicity, gender, sex, disability; that may or may not be the forefront of how we personally identify ourselves but it is how we are perceived by others.

Then there is the overall culture or cultures that we may identify with; African American, Asian American, European American, Mexican American. Perhaps were on the margin between two or more cultures or identities; by which would be intersectionality. The multitude of factors and life experiences that form our identities are complex and unique to each of us.

It is important to question how you identify yourself and in what terms. Why do you consider yourself American or why do you claim something in particular to be important to yourself? Why do you have the beliefs that you do? Have you been told them or have you actually considered them?

It is necessary to question the conditioning and programming that we all are under in society. We are all programmed. To do so; is to know yourself better. If we stay stagnant in our belief systems and identifications, we may be clinging onto falsities that really don't define us. If we question our narratives, we establish self-awareness and reflection.

For example, I am vegan. I was not raised to question the morality behind consuming animal flesh. It was normal in my society; in fact, it was favored and consumed almost obnoxiously. When I went through my transition, although it was caused by other factors in my life as well; I became a new person with a new world view. I see society in a different light. I see the people around me in a different lens. It really woke me up to the reality of programming people are under.

When we change as people, I feel that we really become more open to obtaining new knowledge and new ways of living. For myself, I have never felt more inner understanding of myself than right now. I think there is a lot of power behind questioning our identities and pushing ourselves to grow.