WK5 Material culture: Identity

 

I don't think anyone can list up five concepts which fully answer the question of their identity. People are made of their relationships with others, their knowledge, experiences, and mistakes. So when asked: "Who are you?", you will answer by listing up a couple of things that come to your mind which can be recognized from  your everyday life, as for example: husband/wife, daughter/son, brother/sister, loving, understanding, stubborn, mean, realistic/pessimistic/optimistic, etc. However, I  feel like all of these things are only one part of who we really are. This is the way we see ourselves. The other half of us is the way other people see and experience us. So, for the sake of this hw assignment, I will say that one half of me is a stubborn, loving, passionate, and persistent female.

The biggest mistake for us would be to try to live up to standards set by somebody else or society. Instead, I think we should focus on who we are and those things that make us, us. The society will often be judgmental and try to make us "fit in" but that shouldn’t be a reason for us to change ourselves and forget where we came from. Still, after many years of fighting for equality we’re not even close to solving the problem. Still, there are people who are treated differently just because the color of their skin, their sexual preference or their ethnic background. The way to finally put a stop to this is to raise awareness and point out these issues, and only then are we really going to make progress and change in the world we live in. Kevin Jennings faced all these issues when he pursued his dream to become the president of the United States. Naturally, as a gay man there was no place for him in that "high position" at the time. He even tried to suppress the fact that he was gay by constantly "hooking up" with girls from his school in an attempt to make himself believe that he is "normal" and that he has a chance at achieving his dream. Jennings also states that he was more and more ashamed of his heritage and southern accent, and that he tried to imitate news casters' accent in order to minimize, even eliminate completely his own because southern people were not seen as normal people but rather as hicks. Luckily, he realized that on time and started doing what he liked until he is able to achieve his dream the right way, and that is without changing who he is, and without letting other dictate his life. As he pointed out, there is no point in pursuing the dream if that will require the change of self, what we like, or where we come from. All those things should not be the stringent standard or requirement for us to become something we strive for.