Identity

Identity is a strange thing.

We talk about having one identity, but really, we all have many.

Who we are on our own is different to who we are in a group, which is different who we are online, which is different to who we are around close friends and family. And while each of these identities may in fact be incredibly similar, and may only have very slight differences to each other, they still feel different.

They’re still there.

It’s not really something we can help.

As humans, we are always growing in some way. We are always experiencing new things, and it’s impossible to not change and adapt to reflect our constantly changing environment, and these different identities form as a result.

Sometimes while I was at uni it felt like I had two different identities: who I was, and who I had been.

It’s something a friend of mine and I realised while we were away at uni. It was always strange to go home to our parents. Our parents expect to see the person we used to be, the person we were before we left. By the time we went back to visit them, we weren’t exactly the same as we were when we left. We’d have new habits, new ideas, new opinions. Now, after uni and once more living at home, I have had to find a new version of who I am: the newer post-uni me in an old pre-uni environment.

Society has a great impact on our identities and how we view ourselves too. It can change who we want to be, it advises us on how to be the best person we can, it can influence our thoughts and our ideas and our opinions. This is probably to be expected, when we think of how easily accessible the attitudes of the world we’re in now are, and how open everything is.

With the idea of identity and society comes the idea of ‘community’.

Between young people especially, the importance of being able to be who we are supposed to be is huge. All we want is to be able to say who we are, and have it accepted, no matter what. Identity is what sets us apart from each other. It’s what makes us all different.

But knowing that there’re other people out there who have been through similar experiences or feel certain things the same or in a similar way is incredibly important, and is hugely encouraging.

There are people who share aspects of me who show me its worth.

There are people with the word for how I feel, for how I act.

There are people that show me that I’m not alone.

I’m not alone in that particular aspect of who I am, and it is the most wonderful and comforting thing to find.