WK5 Material culture: Identity

 Who are you? Answering this seemingly simple question proved out to be much more difficult than I first thought it would be and while trying to solve this complex problem I realized that there is more than one correct answer. We usually have a certain idea of who we are and who we want to become, but others who know us also have different perspectives on our personality traits. Since the majority of people tend to describe me as a mini version of my grandfather, which is a fact that I am extremely proud of, I want to believe that they are right as I aspire to be as kind, understanding, persistent, wise, and charming as the man who raised me was.

In the article American Dreams, Kevin Jennings illustrates his experience of pursuing the American dream. As Jennings was the only remaining faith of his family to become successful, he was determined to chase the presidential position no matter the cost. In order to fulfill his dream, he had to abandon any obstacle including the very parts of his identity as his origin or being gay. Naturally, his strong will to hide his true self only led to suffering that even resulted in a suicide attempt and it was not until college that he realized what a huge mistake he was making. With a help of a professor, he was able to comprehend that he was being pressured by a false dream made by an unfair society that treats natural differences as something wrong. Facing these facts enabled him to understand himself and the world around him while devoting his life to helping the victims of society's harsh treatment, just as he would have done as a president.