It's somewhat ironic to think you need other people to help you develop your own personal identity. But I do think it’s practically impossible to grow and develop an identity all by yourself. I don’t know where I would be without the help of my friends and family. Passing through life in solitude can be a hard pill to swallow, so I’m incredibly thankful they’ve provided me with the encouragement and understanding I need to be comfortable and confident in myself.
In Kathryn Stockett's The Help, it is largely due to the unlikely friendships that Skeeter, Aibileen, Minny, and Celia are involved in that they able to better themselves and their lives. A friendship between these white and black women was unthinkable in 1960’s Mississippi, but ignoring this taboo proved to be infinitely valuable. Aibileen and Minny inspire Skeeter to seek out a better life for herself by encouraging her to take the job at a publishing company in New York City, and Skeeter inspires Aibileen to write and Minny to be more independent.
Monday, August 30, 2010
A Personal Odyssey
How do we form and shape our identities?
The issue of personal identities is so simple yet so painfully complex. And as I journey through the latter part of my teenage years, this question feels extremely relevant. This is a time in my life when I'm expected to make huge decisions about my future, but how can I make such decisions if I don't feel like I have formed my own identity yet? Yet I don't know if there is ever a point in life where one feels he has wholly and completely shaped his identity. It's a never-ending process. And sometimes when I feel like I’m really sure of myself, I change- what if my identity that's true today is false tomorrow?
But today, August 31st, I feel like I can define myself, as I am right now. I feel like Amory Blaine in This Side of Paradise, “I know myself, but that is all-” But there is still the need to reveal one’s identity to the world, and that’s often the hardest part of it all. The world judges you on your actions and words whether you like it or not. So confidence and candidness is vital in shaping one’s identity.
Telemakos was just a baby when Odysseus left home, and when The Odyssey begins, he’s close to my age. He is young, inexperienced, and insecure. He has huge problems on his hands due to the absence of his father and the invasion of suitors in his household, and he has no clue what to do about it. In order to solve his problems, he must mature, and with newfound perseverance, boldness and a little help from Athena, Telemakos follows in his father's footsteps and begins to develop the makings of a good, strong leader. His personal journey to identity was not over at the end of The Odyssey though. And his father Odysseus was still changing and maturing in his middle age.
Like Odysseus’s and Telemakos’s, my odyssey is an inexhaustible process.
The issue of personal identities is so simple yet so painfully complex. And as I journey through the latter part of my teenage years, this question feels extremely relevant. This is a time in my life when I'm expected to make huge decisions about my future, but how can I make such decisions if I don't feel like I have formed my own identity yet? Yet I don't know if there is ever a point in life where one feels he has wholly and completely shaped his identity. It's a never-ending process. And sometimes when I feel like I’m really sure of myself, I change- what if my identity that's true today is false tomorrow?
But today, August 31st, I feel like I can define myself, as I am right now. I feel like Amory Blaine in This Side of Paradise, “I know myself, but that is all-” But there is still the need to reveal one’s identity to the world, and that’s often the hardest part of it all. The world judges you on your actions and words whether you like it or not. So confidence and candidness is vital in shaping one’s identity.
Telemakos was just a baby when Odysseus left home, and when The Odyssey begins, he’s close to my age. He is young, inexperienced, and insecure. He has huge problems on his hands due to the absence of his father and the invasion of suitors in his household, and he has no clue what to do about it. In order to solve his problems, he must mature, and with newfound perseverance, boldness and a little help from Athena, Telemakos follows in his father's footsteps and begins to develop the makings of a good, strong leader. His personal journey to identity was not over at the end of The Odyssey though. And his father Odysseus was still changing and maturing in his middle age.
Like Odysseus’s and Telemakos’s, my odyssey is an inexhaustible process.
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