identity.

I am a firm believer in ever-changing identity. I don’t think it’s static, it doesn’t stand still, identity isn’t one thing. What I am, or am not, is in a constant state of redefinition, refinement or complete change.  Surroundings and situations affect identity and how you chose to describe yourself. Of course there are things about the way I identify that are constant. Yet still – the way I identify at work is totally different from the way I identify with my friends. Sometimes, at work for instance, I think I throw out my “woman” identity to level the playing field. I don’t believe this is a function of roles either.

What I was thinking about today is American identity. How I had to be abroad to be the most American I have ever been. OF COURSE, I didn’t plaster a flag on my backpack, but, through the lenses of others, I was “the American girl.” Before abroad-ness, I had never, ever “identified” as American, I had never introduced myself with that label attached. As I became used to my identity as AMERICAN… I think I changed, even if momentarily. The moment I disembarked from the plane and stepped foot back in the U.S. of A., I almost snapped back into a non-American, which is kind of counter-intuitive.

 Anyway, it’s kind of interesting.