American Identities Web Projects, 2012

I'm going to start posting Identification Projects from my last two semesters of American Identities a little later this week, but here's the work of my students who chose the web authoring option for their Final Projects in spring and fall 2012!

• The 9/11 Conspiracy Theory http://brut9685fredoniact.blogspot.com/
• A Look at Documentaries http://kristaguy.weebly.com/
• American Dream, Changed http://americandreamchanged.tumblr.com/
• American Identity Amongst Friends http://amidentshelty.tumblr.com
• American Identity of Sport http://americanidentityofsport.blogspot.com/ and http://americanidentityofsport.tumblr.com/
• Immigration from Mexico http://www.ostr4363.blog.com/
• Multiethnic Americans http://multiethnic.tumblr.com/
• The Paranoid American Identity http://theparanoidamericanidentity.com/
• The Plight of Men Raised by Women http://engl296finalproject.wordpress.com/
• Positive Identities http://positiveidentities.blogspot.com/
• Video Games and American Culture http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iWcTBxcR28&feature=youtu.be 
• Working on My Fatness http://workingonfatness.wordpress.com/ 

American Identity: From the Philippines to Fredonia

American Identity:  From the Philippines to Fredonia

Mikiharu Holst

Long flights are never fun and those flights around 20 hours long are especially bad. I was living in the Philippines before I came to Fredonia and my family had been travelling around the world for a long time. My father and siblings have American citizenship like me, but my mom is a Japanese citizen and has a green card to live in the States. Since we travel a lot on government orders for my father's work, she gets a somewhat free pass with issues of refreshing it and having to deal with some problems with moving in and out of the country. If the government didn’t give some leeway to families that had to travel, that would be terrible.

            Anyway, at the immigration counter in Detroit where they check your passports and what-not, the guy who was manning that desk was telling my mother she couldn’t go on. He said her card was expired and she couldn’t go on. My mother tried to explain that because of her husband’s orders… And he cut her off. He kept saying that it didn’t matter about him and his citizenship, because she wasn’t a citizen and needed to update her card. She knows how this works, I mean she’s been doing this for years, but the jerk wouldn’t listen and was just being rude. It was incredibly frustrating to say the least. We had a flight in about an hour and a half, which is not much time in airports, and this was a hassle we really didn’t need to deal with. Eventually he sent us over to another desk, I can’t remember what it was called, but they dealt with these problems more in-depth so the rest of the people could get through. The new guy understood what the problem was and knew that she didn’t have to jump through hoops to travel in the US. So luckily we managed to go on without much hassle after that. He talked a little bit about maybe refreshing it soon, but that it cost money that would be unnecessary to spend while she didn’t need to. We made our flight and now I’m here in Fredonia attending college. This experience made me really think about what it means to be American.

            Just looking at how the two different immigration workers in the airport treated my mother gave me a sharp contrast in how Americans can act. One was incredibly rude and dismissive of someone who wasn’t American. The other helped as best he could and offered advice on how to best deal with the situation we found ourselves in. Immigration is the first thing that people see when they enter a country and as I’m effectively new to the US, this was my first glimpse at America. It wasn’t a great introduction to American society, but the help of the other worker helped to make it better. In Beyond Citizenship, Peter Spiro talks about American citizenship and the devaluing of American citizenship. This probably applied in my situation with immigration as the first man obviously feels strongly about American citizenship and how my mother didn’t want to become an American citizen. This is because Japan only lets you have one citizenship; you can have dual citizenship if you're born with both, but you have to pick Japan or whichever other country you’re tied to before you turn 22. Her parents, my grandparents, are Japanese and live in Japan so she is not going to give up her citizenship when she can just get a green card to live in the States. Spiro says the value of American citizenship has gone down, and while it may have gone down a bit, I believe that being American is still valuable.

My name is Mikiharu Holst and I’m half American and half Japanese. I’ve lived in many places around the world and have in turn experienced a lot. I was born in the States but I’ve spent more time overseas than I have in the US. In total I’ve only lived in the US for four years. My time in Japan and Israel has been more memorable than the few years I’ve had in the states. Moving around so much has made it that I don’t, or can’t, say “back home” in reference to the States. “Back home” happens to be wherever my family happens to be at the moment. The location of “home” shifts every few years and that’s normal for me. As moving to a new country is a more drastic change than moving to a new house in the neighborhood or to the next state, I’d say that my life has been different than many Americans. This has also lead me to less American interaction overall, as living in other countries has limited it to people in similar circumstances to me. Japan is the place I’ve lived the longest and could possibly be called home, but I don’t think there is any country I can really dub “home.”

While I don’t have a home, I’ve developed as a person throughout my life. I can say what kind of person that I am. I’m a nice guy, not outgoing, attempt to be funny but often fail miserably (sometimes in a way that ends up being amusing), pretty lazy, and a bunch of other descriptors that I could spout. Figuring out what kind of person I am isn’t something that just clicked one day. I’ve learned and relearned what kind of person I am throughout the years. It’s a bit harder to define what I am in regards to national identity, even after my 19 years on this planet.

Race is often used to guess roughly where someone is from. You take that, compare it to their clothes and what they have and you start forming opinions. Even if it’s not conscious, we all stereotype in one way or another and we apply that to how we look at the person. This could lead to a guess to them being from Kenya, China, or England. It’s terribly inefficient though. People from all races can be found all over the world. The US is also pretty diverse so that can throw a wrench into some guesswork. Drawing a conclusion of nationality from race doesn’t work. Matthew Frye Jacobson has a part in Whiteness of a Different Color where he quotes Smith and his students. One student was saying how anyone could tell that he was Greek just by looking at him. The student he asked said she didn’t know that the other student was Greek before he told the class he was. If you stand in front of a stranger and study them for a minute, will you be able to see what nationality they are? No. I can’t look in a mirror and see what my nationality is and I can’t look at someone else and instantly know theirs. So while we are legally born with a nationality, that doesn’t really mean anything. People aren’t born patriotic to a nation. You don’t even know what a nation is yet. Identity has to be found.

            I could just look at my race and then turn to my passports and stop there. If someone asks me what my nationality is I can just whip out my passports. “Look at these and it’ll tell you what I am. Ignore any preconceptions and doubts you may have, reader of my passport; you can now see that I am American and Japanese.” But wait, this doesn’t always work for people. It doesn’t work for me. While I do identify as American and Japanese, it’s not because my passports tell me that. There are people who don’t feel like they’re a part of the country they are officially a part of. Other people feel like they have a certain nationality even when they don’t have it officially. Having that little book is very useful if you want to travel and various other things requiring identification. I get to visit my family after this semester ends because my passport will let me fly over and visit them for winter break. People couldn’t travel around the world and see new places and experience different things without passports, but they don’t make your identity.

            Still, passports can help you figure out your identity. Typically this would happen by letting you travel and the experience would help you out. I’ve travelled all over the world because of it and I’ve dealt with many kinds of people. Europe, the Middle East, Japan, and the Philippines all act differently. Being in these places gave me experience with the rest of the world and how it acts. Many things are different overseas and many things can end up similar. Obvious things like language matter little and a lot. People are people regardless of what language they speak, but not speaking the same language can cause barriers to appear. In the Philippines they speak English but Tagalog is mixed in liberally to make a unique blend of Tagalog and English. It can vary depending on who you speak to and where you are in how much languages are mixed or used. This fusion of two languages is vastly different than in the US where speaking multiple languages is promoted, and bashed, at the same time.

Language also influenced my views on my identity, albeit indirectly. I can only speak English, even though I learned Spanish as a young child and Japanese in school while I lived in Japan. I forgot basically all the Spanish I knew within a couple weeks of leaving Mexico. Japanese went away slower, but I’d also not learned it as well as I had Spanish as a young child. I probably forgot the bulk of my Japanese knowledge more slowly than I did Spanish because we use a small amount of Japanese around the house; we occasionally talked with our grandparents on the phone(who only speak Japanese) and watched anime. I know a few words and how to count but I can’t really communicate with anyone in Japanese beyond rudimentary statements. While I still love my Japanese side, my inability to understand and speak Japanese effectively locks me out of truly identifying as Japanese. I like to say I’m half Japanese and its definitely a part of me, but my American side is more prominent because of this.

Cultures of other nations can give a stark contrast, or eerie similarity, to the one you’re used to. While I didn’t really live in America long enough to really grasp American society, I’ve lived around Americans overseas and have been in American International Schools. I think one of my most interesting experiences with culture was my trip to Qatar. Qatar was only going to take a few days as I was only there for an MUN (Model United Nations) conference. I flew in from Israel, so we had to do a somewhat roundabout flight to avoid problems with that. Right away my trip to Qatar made me think about what being an American meant. Just flying from Israel is enough to make it so the flight has to be in a somewhat roundabout way that avoids nations that aren’t really on friendly terms with Israel. While not everyone loves America, we don’t have to deal with as many people outright hating our guts. Landing then leads to customs and immigrations where having an Israeli passport lead to more scrutiny. A couple people were pulled aside for a more thorough check, being hassled for things on their passport, although overall the treatment was less severe than the year before. This is the main part where I saw what being Israeli meant to other people and I compared it to my treatment then and now. After the airport, most of my experiences and comparisons that I draw from Qatar stems from comparing the culture there to American culture. In a way it was very similar, but again very different. Many women wore traditional garb yet fashion stores could be found in malls. The mall I went to is an incredible mall that is fancy. It had a canal that ran through much of the mall, complete with gondolas. It had an ice rink, IMAX 3D, and of course McDonalds. A mall as massive and filled as this is something that many people consider “American” with consumerism and burgers, also had strong Islamic ties. It was a unique experience to me and was very interesting to say the least. The US has, relative to some countries in the Middle East, pretty strong ties to Qatar so it might not be too much of a surprise to see “American” things, but the contrast was still fascinating.

            When I think of my identity in the sense of being American, I look at my life experiences and who I am to try and determine that. I’ve only lived in the US for four years in total and this freshman year in college will be my fifth. I’ve lived in Bolivia, Mexico, Japan, Israel, and the Philippines. I’ve also visited Qatar, Rome, Vienna, Paris, and other airports around the world. Seeing the world is a rare opportunity and I grew up with it. I’ve dealt with people in other nations having to deal with me, an American, which puts some more perspective onto my life. When I compare how the people are in most of these nations to how many Americans I’ve met and know, I start to think that I am pretty American. While it’s not a universal template, many Americans are pretty nice and go out of their way to help a stranger. At least, this is an aspect of Americans that I think I have. And that is how it ended up becoming for me. Travel forces perspective onto you as you see the rest of the world. Japan is a good place for this to happen. At least for me. The American environment through the housing and schools gave me a more grounded and familiar place to live. But I’d step outside and be in a whole new world and could see the differences right away. Home wasn’t a copy of American life, but it had many aspects and the bases were pretty similar. I could just look at the movie theaters and see differences between Japan and America. Simple things like movie seats being something you just picked in the American theaters while you were assigned them in Japanese ones. I could find food that is usually only readily available in America and was “rare” in Japan. Caprisun was surprisingly popular among my friends and I’d trade with them during lunches. The, in a way, easy access to America through the bases enabled me to stay grounded and explore the country easily.

            Sum up everything that’s happened to me during my life and all the things I’ve done and experienced and you build up my identity. I view myself as an American, with Japanese parts, a nice guy, atheist, person who’s seen much of the world, a gamer, and human. My life has seen a host of experiences in my travels, mistakes, and adventures. If I had to I might be able to narrow down how I exactly define what my identity is, but I feel like my identity is malleable and can easily get modified. Some of the basics stay the same, which would be the things I listed before this, but overall my identity is not something I can really define yet. But the things I listed at the start of this paragraph are some of the most important parts of my identity. Family influenced me but they’re not my identity. Being American is an important part of me as I love my country. My Japanese side as well is something that I appreciate a lot and enjoy. Experience and having been in a good amount of the world has a lot of sway for me. I’m human with all my mistakes and achievements. My gamer part isn’t just saying that playing games is an important part of who I am but it is also how I can describe the kind of things I like among other things. But simply being a nice guy is the most important thing to me. I can be a dick sometimes and am not always cheerful or nice, but I try. Being nice is something I want to be, so I try and be it.

             America is a great country and I believe it’s the best in the world, even with all of our faults and imperfections. We try to be the best, not just in raw power, but in how we act and view the world. Some politicians and citizens might not follow that same train of thought, but the country as a whole tries. Aspiring to be what America stands for is what I believe is a core feature of what being American really is. You have to really want to be and try to be American. That doesn’t mean you have to attend rallies or do other crazy things to prove it. Simply wanting and trying to follow some of the ideals of the American dream or the principles that we stand for is enough in my book. Taking it too far still makes you an American, just a bad or stupid person. The ideals that America stands for probably differ person to person, but I think some of my thoughts on it might ring true for others. Tolerance and acceptance towards others of all kinds is something that I think America stands for. There of course is still racism and hatred towards certain groups in the US, but it is not supported. As America was built to greatness by a large assortment of people and groups, none can claim to be the real American way. The best and brightest Americans have roots from all over the world.  So with that in mind, I like to think America is the melting pot, as its been called, and that we are open to all and accepting of others.

            Beyond simply accepting others for their differences and looking at who they are as a person, I think Americans’ acting when needed is another important attribute. America acts when we think we’re needed to help out. While we have had misguided acts and aren’t always doing things for the right reasons, we still act where others don’t. If there is a problem we go out and try and fix it. This is something that should apply to smaller things than the acting of the country as a whole. I would hope that I would be able to follow my own directions if it ever came up for me to try and help stop a robber or other criminal. It’s a terrifying notion, but if people can’t even go out of their way to help someone who is literally right there in front of them, then we have no right to call ourselves a true American. Americans have pulled together in times of crisis, but there are also people who loot in those times and ignore crimes in front of them. Putting aside the examples of those who don’t follow the law or turn a blind eye to those who do, it is still an ideal that I think many people would like to follow. It’s difficult to judge how people would work with it, but it something that I could hope that more Americans would try and do.

            In addition to stepping up when it’s called for and being open and accepting to others, I think to be American you have to also try and achieve the American Dream. It’s something that has been a part of America for a long time. It comes in different phrases and can be described differently, symbolizing many American values and something we can aspire to no matter our social class. It isn’t an absolute idea and it isn’t perfect, but it extols great ideals and can encourage people to rise high above what they normally would think possible. Dreaming for greatness isn’t what is required, but getting to happiness via hard work or through your own means. Promoting that you can achieve what you want in life and the freedom of each person to do so. Pushing for individual freedoms is something that America has been doing for a while and the American Dream promotes freedom to succeed.

            Being American is important to many and it is important to me. It doesn’t rule my life, but I’d like to hold onto it if I can. When I look at the rest of my life and look it over it helps me reaffirm my American side, while I still embrace my Japanese side. I’ve gone from seeing American-like things overseas to being in America again. Returning to the States for college and reading non-fictional and fictional stories on what being an American means to people and what it means to be American, I’ve supplemented my experiences with these points of views and ideas. While I think that overall my ideas of what it means to be American hasn’t really changed too much over the course of the semester in American Identities, I’ve gotten more perspectives and could develop it some more. Being American is an important part of my identity, but to really reach that point I had to experience other things to figure out what being American means.

Questioning American Identity

Questioning American Identity

Anonymous

When I am asked to consider who I am and my personal identity many things pop in my head. But to be completely honest I’m still finding myself. I think twenty-one is a reasonable age to be learning and discovering who I am and who I will be.  There are many factors that play into any one person’s identity. The factors that have affected and shaped my identity thus far would have to be my upbringing and family life, as well as my interests and even somewhat where my family has come from.  Obviously there are many more factors that play into an identity such as religious beliefs, political views, and privileges you may or may not have had throughout your life.

            I grew up being the oldest of three children in a middle-class working family. My parents are still married, and getting to the end of raising their children. I am the oldest; however, I am also the only girl. Being the oldest meant I always got the harshest punishments, strictest rules, and was simply expected to do everything well, yet was never really rewarded for it. Now that my brothers are in high school, I see my parents easing up, and the rules are much less strict, though my brothers would beg to differ. However, being the only girl had its advantages, so for most things I was “deprived” of, being oldest, I gained in being the only daughter.

             My rules were something like this: if you get any grades less than an eighty-five you got a stern talking to, if they were any less than eighty I was grounded. Being grounded for me meant no T.V. or computer time, no going out with friends, no friends could come over, and as I got older it meant the cell phone was taken away for a month, I was not allowed to see or call boyfriends, and it seemed like a new punishment was added each time.  Now seeing my brothers put up a fight against my parents baffles me; their punishment consists of maybe a few days of being grounded which adds up to no PlayStation, or going out with friends, the end. My one brother is not a strong student, so as long as he gets a seventy-five or above it’s a good job, kid, maybe next time you can get an eighty.

             Other things that my parents did that played into how I am now were my dad’s interrogation questions. By that I mean if I had any desire to go somewhere or do something I got, in rapid fire, Where are you going? What time are you going? Who is going to be there? When are you going to be home? How are you getting home? What are you going to be doing there? Are parents going to be home there? Are you sure you don’t just want your friends to come here? And then finally if I were lucky he would surrender his tight grip and say “fine, be safe, don’t do stupid things, and be home on time.”

             While my dad was the interrogator who scared off boyfriends, and even girlfriends who he questioned, my mother was the one who forced us to be involved. Her rule was you must be involved in at least one sport, and when your sports season is over you have to pick up another or join clubs at school. Now she did not go as far as the Tiger Mother, Amy Chua, who wrote Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and who chose her children’s activities for them, but she strictly enforced this rule for quite a while.  For me this was never a big deal because oddly enough I am the most competitive out of my brothers and I, so I was always interested in sports, and I loved being a part of teams.  I swam for the varsity swim team from seventh grade all the way through senior year of high school when I was the captain of the team. It was something I loved, something I was at least semi-good at, and I loved the competition. When I wasn’t on swim team, I was either practicing with the boy’s swim team for the hell of it, in a leadership club, or running meetings for art club.

I have always been in love with art even when I was younger. I was the kid who loved coloring and crafts, then I was one of very few kids in middle and high school who loved and took art class seriously, I never got bored when we went on field trips to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, then I took AP Art in high school, and here I am, a Visual Arts and New Media major at SUNY Fredonia.  So in a way I’ve always kept art and creativity close to me, and hopefully that pays off when I graduate in the spring this year. Although I make my parents sound somewhat like hard-asses, they are not in all respects. Yes, they were tough on me, and while I hated that growing up, I’m starting to realize that it only helped me grow up, realize what was important, and it made me a tougher, stronger person in the end. But my parents have always been encouraging and strong believers in the notion of doing whatever is going to make us happy, of course within reason. While I know many parents would be extremely disappointed in their child going to school for Visual Arts, or as some of my friends tease me, being a “coloring major,” my parents have always supported me, my dad even helps me since he has an artistic eye, my mom does not always understand some of the art, but she too encourages, and she is very crafty so she is a help and inspiration as well. Not only did they get stuck with a daughter going to school to be a “coloring major,” now my brother is considering going to school for auto mechanics, as well--another field looked down upon by many hard-ass parents.  I suppose that’s why they had three kids; maybe my youngest brother will do something over-the-top impressive with his future.  But with that, all I’m saying is I have never felt low, or like what I’m doing is a disappointment or not good enough because my parents have always supported it; if I have felt low about my major in college it’s because of my school, and recent events taking place on campus which is a whole other story. So, as a senior in college I think most of what makes up my identity is my upbringing, my parents and family, as well as my interests and what I am pursuing in my life right now. 

However, it's not just my parents who been strong supporter of me; my whole family has. I have a very large family, and most people would think it to be strange how close I am to such extended members of my family. I still see my grandparents and a lot of my aunts, uncles and cousins every month. They all get excited when I bring new art pieces home that I’ve done, so overall I have a lot of fans. I love having a big, close-knit family because there is never a dull moment; it can be crazy, but I think having that has taught me to deal with chaos. The only downfall of being so close to your whole huge family is you have more to lose. And some of the losses my family have gone through recently have also changed who I am.  Now in some ways we like to compare ourselves to that crazy family in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding because there’s a ton of us, we can be loud and quite chaotic, and there is always hands down an argument somewhere because my family is extremely stubborn. But instead our movie would be called My Big Fat German Wedding, or My Big Fat Czechoslovakian Wedding.  While most people my age do not really identify with their family’s nationality, I do somewhat.  Like Jacobson talks about in his book Whiteness of a Different Color: European Immigrants and the Alchemy of Race almost all of us are not true Americans, meaning most of our families immigrated to American a handful of generations ago, from various parts of the world.

On my mother’s side of the family we are predominantly German, making me more than a quarter German. On my father's side we are primarily Czechoslovakian. When I was younger we had to do several family trees, and family heritage projects, and I always found it awesome that I was Czechoslovakian for several reasons. One, it was a tricky word that most kids couldn’t say at the time and sure as hell couldn’t spell. Two, I could say it and spell it because my parents taught me. Three, I did not come across any other kids in any of those classes who were also Czechoslovakian.  So when it comes to that side of the family I suppose it is not so much that I identify with being Czechoslovakian since I do not know a whole lot about the culture or history other than the whole dispute where it was broken into The Czech Republic and Slovakia, but it's more something I thought was interesting about me. Now my mom’s side of the family is extremely German, and my grandpa is one hundred percent German and proud of it. He is someone who is proud to be American, mainly because he worked for Chevy, so he forces us to only buy American-made cars and all that, but you could also say that my grandfather is the stereotypical German man. He is as stubborn as they come, he is always right, and will argue and yell until that becomes known. He flies his German flag next to his American one. Now some of my family say this next trait is because he is German and others just say it's him being an old man, but he is a complete pack rat; he keeps everything. Last year I found this skateboard in the garage that was his when he was a little kid.  Now despite all the grief we give him he is also quite a good cook--of course of your German staples such as bratwurst. And if you didn’t think it could get more cliché he constantly buys this German beer, that I do admit is quite good, but also like triple the alcohol content of a normal beer. So overall I think I am a bit more in touch with my German side, because it is brought to my attention, and I am surrounded by it frequently.  So far, this is how I view my own identity, but I’m sure with age and experience I will discover more about who I am and where I am supposed to go in life.

            As any American citizen would know our government is capable of providing us with many privileges as well as it having many flaws. Many of which directly affect us, the people. Personally, one of my biggest problems with our government that has and is going to further affect me negatively is our health care system. Currently this is one thing that has been a large topic of debate but one of the most difficult things to change.  Currently our health care is left in the hands of those who decide who is accepted and denied to be covered with health insurance.  These individuals are cut-throat, and do not give a damn about us as the people.  If you have a preexisting condition, forget it you won’t be covered as an individual; if you withhold, or forget even the tiniest bit of information such as a small case of bronchitis on their interrogation-style paperwork, they will come up with an excuse to not cover you. These companies are professional excuse makers so that they do not have to spend money on you. On my seventeenth birthday I had to do a three-day sleep study. I was tested and diagnosed with epilepsy. At the time medication cost and health care coverage had not crossed my mind a whole lot seeing as I was covered under my parents still.  About a week later my dad opened my hospital bill, which was completely outrageous and sky-high. This puzzled me because both my parents work two or more jobs, and they both work within the medical field. I did not quite understand the justification to why my father, a family nurse practitioner, and my mother a surgical technician, could be stuck with such god-awful health insurance.

 I investigated some more about healthcare in the United States, and learned a lot about it in my high school government class, and the end result was my complete disgust and fear.  Why is it that if I had been born an hour north in Canada I would be covered for free no matter my illness?  Or in other countries such as China or Japan, they pay small copays but the government acts as a cushion for the rest of the money. Or other solutions such as being a doctor is not an all-mighty profession like it is here; in Britain the doctors do not get paid nearly as well, but due to their lower pay rates, and some help from government funding they are able to treat their patients without making them go bankrupt.  I have experience with a family friend who has bone and skin cancer. He has been in and out of hospitals fighting pneumonia in addition to his cancers; when he is well enough to leave the hospital he gets put in aftercare facilities. Recently, his health insurance said he is only covered at his aftercare place for a total of three more days. The hospital told him he was not sick enough to stay at the hospital for any longer, and he had no more time left covered at the aftercare place. He was stuck with no place to go.  His family couldn’t afford to keep him in an aftercare place so now they rotate taking care of him the best they can, which is completely altering their lives because they all have jobs, families, school and lives. Is this what we should really be reduced down to? Is this really how the land of opportunity treats you? Lucky for me Obama recently passed a new law saying that kids can be covered under their parents' health insurance up to age twenty-six. It was previously age twenty-three, which would mean that as I am getting out of school, if I did not find a job that could cover me with health insurance, I would be paying insane amounts of money to keep myself healthy and safe. No college graduate has extra money to shell out.  If that were to happen I would be paying a couple hundred dollars for my medication every month, this is a medication I cannot skip out on if I do not want to risk my health and safety. 

Another thing that crossed my mind is that in the future I had considered the option of opening my own company for design, and if I were to do that I would not be covered by an employer, so that is another situation where I could be left hanging. In the news there were stories about the Buffalo Public School system, and how the teachers have extremely good health coverage, meaning their coverage is so good that they can get breast implants and that would be covered in their insurance.  How is this justifiable by anyone? How can one person get an essentially free boob job while other people are out there dying because they cannot afford the cost of medication or treatment--they apparently cannot afford the cost of life? My question is, who has the right to decide this person can get some health insurance, and this person can’t, which, when boiled down is this person lives and this person dies? These companies are out for money and money only, whether it means costing people their lives or not. 

Another thing related to this that is on the rise is new drugs. While on one hand it is great that with new technology are able to come up with all these new drugs to help with various health problems, it is having an extremely negative impact on our society. Firstly, these drugs are not cures, they are merely temporary aids. Secondly, most of these new drugs have more side effects than it’s worth. (For example, I still question it, my epilepsy medication has a side effect of twitching…. Explain that one to me, I twitch, which ends up being diagnosed as epilepsy, they give me medication for it and it is one of the side effects. The only reason I do not question it is because for now it works, and if I do not take it then there would be some serious issues.) Finally, because so many new drugs are coming out, they are all advertised in every way possible, being we live in a technology-based society now. And because all these advertisements are directed towards us the people, we automatically think, Oh, maybe that’s what is wrong with me, and then these people go tell their doctors I need to be put on this medication. I thought it was the doctor’s job to be diagnosing the patient? Not the patient coming in saying I need this drug. Not only is it the patients, though, because there are pharmaceutical representatives they come into doctor’s offices to promote all these new drugs, and the office agrees to promote certain drugs, which somewhat influences the doctor to prescribe those prescriptions. This is set up all wrong.  What happened to patients seeing doctors, and if something was seriously wrong the doctor would prescribe what he or she thought would best help that individual patient? I also think that in this world of drug reps and advertising, they are forgetting that yes we are all people, but all people are different, especially when it comes to the body and health.  Everyone reacts to different drugs differently, and every person has different conditions or problems that can change how things work.

 I think that a lot of the negative things going on in health care are dominantly because of the insurance companies, but also the rise of technology and advertising.  As a graphic design major I should not be saying this or thinking this way but in the sense of medication, it needs to be publicized to healthcare providers not the general population, because as a whole many of us are hypochondriacs.  Also with new technology advancements we are making all of these drug advancements, which could be looked at as positive or negative. But what I really question is if we have all these drug breakthroughs and all these technology advancements are aiding us at getting further in medical technology why have we not gotten around to actual cures for diseases or cancers? Or is it that we have and our government or drug companies are keeping it from us, because they as a whole will be falling if people do not need to keep coming back for their short-term relief drugs?

            I do not think I am the best source to discuss and analyze what the American Identity is. Honestly, I am not someone who always keeps up with current events in the news, or keeps up and fully understands politics and how our government works. I have some opinions here and there but am not completely sure of the true American identity. Based on my further knowledge from this course I have learned a few things, one of them being there is no one good way to identify the United States and its people. Like Jacobson talks about in his book, Whiteness of a Different Color, almost all of us today are not truly “American” or truly “white” because our families immigrated from all over the world, especially Europe. And even today you can go to different cities and notice the higher populations of certain ethnicities, because many Irish people immigrated and lived in the same place, and so did the Germans and Italians.  For example, I am from around Buffalo, and it is widely known that there are tons of Polish people around here. In Buffalo many Polish holidays are celebrated such as Dyngus Day where we even have a parade. Just like Saint Patrick’s Day is widely celebrated throughout the United States, because there were so many Irish immigrants.  So America is a mix of a whole mess of different people, which is unlike really anywhere else in the world. 

             However, when you get on the topic of immigration you have to consider all the controversy of the Mexican border and those immigrants still trying to come here. We are trying to do so much to keep Mexican immigrants out of our country because they are living here illegally and taking jobs that American’s could be filling.  So the question is, do we loosen our grip on the border because they are immigrants much like all the European immigrants, and this is supposed to be a melting pot and the land of opportunity, but can our country afford to keep letting them be here? I think other factors that play into our identity is our freedom, our education that we can provide for children, and the fact that we are a society that now revolves around technology. But we are human--are we able to keep up with the rate that technology is advancing? So far it seems America is doing a relatively good job at keeping up with technology but will we fall behind, just like we are falling behind as a world superpower? I also question things like, now that India and China are creeping up behind us, and most likely going to surpass us will that change our identity? Will our country and citizenship become less desirable? Or do we think that because our country is built on a foundation of competitiveness we will fight to stay on top? These are things that this class, American Identities has made me consider about our country, how others view it, and what our identity is.

Works Cited

Chua, Amy. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. New York: Penguin, 2011. Print.

Jacobson, Matthew Frye. Whiteness of a Different Color: European Immigrants and the Alchemy of Race. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1998. Print.

Identity of an Atypical College Student

Identity of an Atypical College Student

Tylor

What Is an Identity?

It is defined as the distinguishing character or personality of an individual. This is an identity in its simplest form. So, I set out on a quest to find my identity and in turn find out what it means to be me. An identity should be important for every person to realize about themselves because self-realization is crucial to being a good person.

My First Identifying Factor

 I would identify myself as an American. I was born here, my parents were born here, and my grandparents were born here. That makes me American. My ancestors are Irish and Italian, but that doesn’t make me Irish or Italian. It is unfair to the people who are those ethnicities to say that I am one of them. It is comparable to saying that I was on a championship winning team when in reality I was on that team years after they won the championship and did not actually earn it myself. Sometimes people forget that they have never actually been to the country that they associate themselves with. If you were to ask them anything about the country that they are from they are likely not to know the answer. If you ask them something about America, they have a greater chance of getting the answer right, but they still would not consider themselves American if asked the question.

After realizing that I am indeed American I must ask myself what it means to be American. Being American brings on great responsibility. You have to act perfect all the time when interacting with people from different countries because Americans are scrutinized the most out of all. America is the number one leader on the world stage and that means that a lot of eyes are on what America does. It also means that many aspects of globalization are strongly linked to Americanization. America is seen as too big to fail because if America does poorly, then the rest of the world might do poorly. America has used this philosophy on their own banks recently knowing that they needed to be bailed out in order for America to keep functioning properly. The fact that America is too big to fail means that a lot of people are relying on America to do well and therefore are looking at with more scrutiny. I know that when I visit other countries that I must be on my best behavior because people are always trying to make Americans out to be the bad guys. It comes with the territory and I realize this.

This isn’t the only thing that being American entails; it also includes a higher standard of living and with this higher standard comes more opportunity to help others. There are plenty of opportunities to help other people in other countries who were not fortunate enough to be able to help themselves. This is something that I know is included with my identity and I try to embrace it in any way possible. It is hard to do work for people in other countries, but I try my best to help people in need. I love being American and I would choose no other fate for myself. It is a blessing to be born in the greatest country in the world and that is why I find it unfathomable that people choose to say they are other ethnicities.

My Second Identifying Factor

            I am a white male. I group these two together because throughout history they have been considered one identifying factor. This is an obvious characteristic of mine that is clearly visible by all. Race can be an important thing is someone’s life and is different from an ethnicity. Ethnicity refers to cultural characteristics, location, and beliefs. Race refers to a person's appearance and has biological underpinnings. They are commonly mistaken to mean the same thing, but in reality they are vastly different.

            Race is something that I have dealt with a lot in my years. My uncle was adopted from the Philippines, but he looks black. When I was younger and I walked around with him, people would think he was my dad and it was looked down upon. I was clearly white and the fact that I was with him implied interracial relations. It didn’t really occur to me then, but people really do not like the idea that a black man could be with anyone except a black woman. I have no negative connotations of African American people, but that is because I was raised to know better. I do understand how people can grow up with the negative feelings towards black people because of how they were raised. If someone is told their whole life that African American people are the enemy and that they are people of lesser importance than they are obviously going to have bad feelings towards them. I was fortunate enough to be raised correctly and not to discriminate, but many people in this country are not as fortunate as I.

My Third Identifying Factor

I would identify myself as someone who is “settled down.” I have a fiancé and have been with her for over 5 years. We are extremely happy, but it is rare that someone at my age settles down with one individual, especially in a college setting. This aspect of my identity is crucial because it makes me change things about myself. I realize that I need to be more conscientious about my money because I need to save enough to support both of us in the future. Also I realize that a relationship is give and take, and I need to compromise with her on some views.

            Being in college itself is an identifying factor. The American College Kid has a certain stereotype that is mostly negative. A college male in America is supposed to follow one of two paths. A person can join a frat and live through college getting drunk regularly, have multiple women in his life, and own fancy things. This person is not prepared for life in the slightest. They never do any work, they don’t worry about what alcohol is doing to their system and they think that a tough day is one that they actually go to every class. This isn’t typical, but it is one of the college male stereotypes. The other version of a college student is the typical stoner. This is the one that never does any work and is too “baked” to think coherently. They do not care what others think and they are the ones that go to rallies and parties during class just because they have those set for their priorities. Neither of these two stereotypes are positive ones, but they are the typical ones portrayed in the mainstream movies and shows that are seen globally.

            My specific experience with the American identity of the college male has to do with the fact that I am engaged. Not many people my age get engaged, and when they do it is often frowned upon at this stage in life. People always say that I am throwing my life away. To those people I say that I am just starting it earlier than most. It is much better to start living at a young age and being with her makes me feel good. Sometimes people wonder why I would commit at my age and ask me how I know she is the one. I really dislike hearing these questions all the time. The people that know us do support us and that is really all that matters, but it goes against the mold. It goes against the stereotype of the typical college male, and most people do not like change.

            Another thing that goes against most college stereotypes is the fact that I do not drink. I have never been drunk or gone to a bar with the goal of getting drunk. This is weird to my friends because, like many college students, they get drunk 2 nights a week. I prefer to stay inside and watch a movie or play a game and remember what I did that night. This isn’t typical, but it is preferable. It is often looked down upon by the people that I am closest to.

Yet another college male stereotype that I do not fit is the all-nighter. I have never had to put myself through an all-night study or work session like it is portrayed in many movies. I believe it is more important to sleep than it is to study and there have been many studies that would back that idea up. There are many people that I have seen that do these study sessions but it really is not beneficial. I do procrastinate, but I try not to procrastinate to the point where I have to cram for an entire night, which leads to the next topic, coffee!

            I absolutely hate coffee. The smell of it is bad, the taste of it is bad, and the effects are bad. It is not great for your body but there really aren’t many things that can wake you up without a large amount of caffeine. I am a soda drinker which isn’t much better, but the stereotype says that I should cram for tests all night with a large cup of java in hand. My fiancé does live on coffee so we often feud about the effects and the usage purposes of it. She usually wins.

Fourth Identifying Factor

            I would identify myself as a geek. The term geek is very specific. It refers to someone who is interested in things that others are not commonly interested in. A geek is smart, but unlike a nerd or a dork they are also socially adept. A common misconception is that they are not good at working with people, but in reality they are. I classify myself as such because I am into sports and hanging out with people, but I also love working on computers. That is my hobby and it is the thing that interests me, but does not interest many others.

            I love being a geek. I enjoy video games across multiple platforms and I enjoy working with technology. Being a geek also comes with some negatives. In my experience, geeks are usually a bit more unkempt and have a hard time caring about physical appearance. When people find out that I am a computer technician they often put these images into the back of their head. It isn’t truly accurate or a fair representation of being a geek, but it is a misconception that is prominent in today’s society.

General American Stereotypes

            (1) There are many misconceptions about America that are portrayed in stereotype from, but many of the stereotypes about America are actually pretty accurate. Americans are known as being greatly obese. This obesity epidemic is fairly recent, and is actually pretty true. Americans seem to be a bit larger than their English counterparts. They have greater access to fatty foods and food in general than most other countries. In America fatty food is rather inexpensive whereas the fruits and veggies can cost quite a bit more. This may be the reason that Americans are seen as larger than other people globally. This is seen throughout my own experiences because I too am a bit larger than most. I eat these fatty foods because I can afford them, and I eat food on campus which is generally less healthy than food found elsewhere.

            (2) Another stereotype about America is that we do not care about other countries. In general this seems to be true also. I personally know quite a bit about other countries because I am a history major and other countries intrigue me, but my peers seem to know very little about the world outside of America. This, like most things, has an explanation. People in America do not converse with many people in other countries because we do not border very many unlike European countries. We also cannot move freely between countries like they can in Europe. There is a passport and a long wait in order to get to Canada or Mexico and honestly many people would rather stay in America than venture forth into sometimes hazardous Mexico. Some people do go to Canada, but it isn’t a trip that can be made often and usually people do not go there for an extended period of time. If people want to visit other countries in Europe they can do so rather inexpensively and without much hassle.

Another example of the blindness of America is that people who live in the United States often forget that they are not the only country in America. They forget that there is a North and South America and as you can see in my paper I am a perpetrator of this. I usually just say America because it is simpler and easier, but really it is because I do honestly forget to acknowledge the other American countries.

            (3) One of the only American stereotypes that actually irks me is the one about Rednecks. It isn’t fair to refer to everyone in the South as a redneck. I was born in Louisiana and lived there for a while and the people down there are just as sophisticated as the ones in the North. Most people do not even know what it means to be a redneck. It really isn’t a bad thing to be a redneck and in some parts of the country it is the highest form of flattery. Some people love hunting, fishing, drinking, and being ignorant to all other issues. Ignorance is bliss and it makes them happy not to worry about many problems that they usually have no control over. Americans often are too stressed about things that they cannot change and therefore have stress that isn’t warranted. I am one of those people. I always worry about things that I cannot change. I realize it isn’t something that I should do, but unfortunately I am not ignorant to the issues of the world and therefore I focus on them.

(4) One of the stereotypes that I am unfortunately adding to is that Americans need things bigger and better. When a new technology comes out I must have it. When I look for a car or a house I must have the best, but why? Why does it really matter if I have a car that looks nicer than you? Is it to make you jealous? I honestly have no answer to these questions, but it might be because I am ignoring them so that I do not feel bad for taking part in it.  If I have a car that runs and a house that is good for shelter, then I should be happy. Unfortunately this is not how many Americans think. They always want better things than the person next to them. Americans were actually upset when the new iPhone came out because it looked like the old one and nobody would know that they had upgraded. This idea is ridiculous. If it works better, then you should get it, but do not get it just so that other people know that you upgraded.

(5) One stereotype that is similar to one mentioned earlier is that Americans are lazy. This is similar to obese Americans, but is different on so many levels mostly because of technology. Before computers and machines, people had to do physical labor to get by, but now people can sit at a machine and push buttons. This means they can be obese and it won’t really affect their work ethic. The thing that I would say I would identify with the most is a hard worker. I move up fast in any job that I have and I achieve high accolades no matter what the job is. It’s not that I can do my job better than anyone else, it’s just that I try harder to do better. If I do not know something I try to learn it and I typically learn what I need to do fairly quickly. I am a Resnet technician and when I went into the job I honestly did not know all that much about computers. Within one year I became student manager and had learned everything that there was to know at the position. It was a great experience, but I feel as if it is time to move on because there is no more challenge, which leads me to my next point.

Final Thoughts

            Is there anything more annoying and diverse as an American? I would have to say no. Americans are so diverse that they can annoy people on different levels. They can be too loud and pushy like a “New Yorker.” They can be too stupid and slutty like the “Dumb Blonde” girl that we all knew in high school. They can constantly be talking about killing deer and driving around in their pickup truck with a shotgun like the “Redneck.” Or they can be getting drunk and saying “bro” all the time like the “typical college kid.” Of course these aren’t accurate representations of America, but it’s what makes America what it is today. It is diverse, it is constantly changing, it is sometimes oblivious to actual problems, and it is constantly using force to prove points.

All of these stereotypes are obviously a bit exaggerated, but they all serve to show what America is. It isn’t all of what America is, but it is a part of America and they show the culture of America. Other countries have stereotypes that they aren’t proud of but it shows what they are made of. One example is that Swedish girls are among the most promiscuous. This isn’t a positive stereotype but it does tell us something about Swedish culture. The people in Sweden actually see promiscuity different than in America and the people in Sweden simply do not care if the girls dress in “skimpy” clothing. I found this out working as an intern for schools in Sweden.

The term American identity is rooted in enlightenment ideals. Out of the enlightenment came many ideas and a new way of thinking. The main thing was a belief in the individual, and this led to romanticism and consequently romantic nationalism. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a leader in this area of thinking and one of the main ideas that he had was that people should identify with their country rather then themselves and that their country is the individual which should be fought for. The idea of a national identity comes from beliefs rooted in the early 1700s and it still exists today.

I think that the idea of American Identities is a horrible one because it creates strife and stereotypes that may not exist otherwise. Without creating specific identities for people there might be more unity. If there were less ways to single people out from others then there might be less discrimination, which would be good for all. Obviously the idea of an identity is inescapable, but it's always good to think “what if?”

Breaking the Curse

Breaking the Curse

Daniela Rodriguez

As I came out from beneath the protective shadows that shielded me for so long, I stood alone in the light, naked as I did from my mother’s womb. At that moment came my departure from the childhood I merely remembered, the mystery behind whom I was and the emergence on whom I was to become. It was then that I understood where I was going and where I truly identified myself. I was a young Latin American woman going after an education. However, it wasn’t my ethnicity that was important but the person I created from every circumstance and label. It was something I didn’t stress and what it meant to me, I would soon uncover.

As a Latina in my hometown, people always put me in the category of the stereotypical Hispanic household: plays soccer and handball, there are 20 people living in the house, every day they eat eggs, beans, rice and tortillas, they’re loud and short tempered and, lastly, they have a stay-at-home mom who does everything for them. Of all those stereotypes we only lived up to three. My mom was a house mom, we did eat tortillas often, well at least my father did, and my father loved soccer. However, these weren’t determining factors to who we wanted to be and where we wanted to go. My parents worked hard for my sister and I to get us out of that category, still maintaining the culture. In a way, we began to Americanize ourselves, adjusting to the lifestyle we wanted, all at the same time creating our own dream and identity. But I always knew the importance of my background and how I would keep it alive without allowing it to consume my identity, while having the confidence that it would never fade through my actions.

To me, being an American meant that you had privileges amongst the nation, simply by being physically born in the United States of America. Some people had to earn that right of being called a citizen with a test that was far from easy. It didn't seem fair to just be deemed a citizen without proving it. This influenced me to look deeper into what it meant to be identified as an American. The interest and importance was there, but it wasn’t something that I was going to praise. Often times when I fill out applications, if not all, they ask if you are Hispanic. It's separated from all the other categories as if it's in its own section. Why? Because of the one epidemic most Hispanics suffer with: immigration. It was an epidemic from which the majority of my entire family came from, which brought me to the land of opportunity.

Being a Latin American to me means more than just speaking Spanish and having ancestors of Hispanic descent. It is a culture that I will always appreciate and it’s a part of me that I can never and don't ever want to change. It is where my outlook in life came from, the roots that grew deeper and deeper into my being. But I didn’t allow that to stop me from becoming versatile and diverse, because I knew I would have to do so eventually in order to get where I wanted. Plus, I liked it better that way. Life felt and looked so much better in that perspective. I always disliked the idea of labeling things and categorizing people into a “race” or “stereotype,” even though it’s inevitable and often true. But my “race” didn’t determine who I was, rather where I came from and only that. I wanted to break the curse that being a Latina brought upon me. That is the question this brings: what was this terrible curse that I couldn’t live with? It was being forced to live in the never-ending cycle of an isolated culture. It was living up to the expectation of getting pregnant at a young age and becoming a housewife. It was allowing my cultural background and ethnicity to grow so strong and scream so loud into my mind, forcing me to believe there was no other way but that way. It was allowing me to be so cultured that I wouldn’t want to accept anything else. Nonetheless I was the complete opposite who was determined to break that curse and rebel into my own beliefs.

My parents came to this country looking for something better, and luckily they found it. With more than two decades here now, they have been successful in fulfilling what is the “American Dream” as far as they can. Seeing where they came from, poverty and empty dreams, it feels good to know that from nothing came something great. It is what continues to add to the identity I have decided to create for myself. It is not just as an American but a Latin American that I will always name myself. However, I do not define myself solely by that.

The personal experiences that I have encountered are plenty; however there are two that stand out like sore thumbs: traveling to Italy and Prague for a week 's period of time. When I traveled to Italy for a choral competition I experienced living in a completely different environment which had a range of diversity and a predominant liberal spirit amongst the whole country. The televisions did not censor nudity nor did they take shame in it. Prague on the other hand, was more hostile. It felt like the environment wasn't at all accepting of Americans and their identity. Just by walking the streets and being tourists, citizens acted as if we were some sort of commodity they had never seen before. There was even a bit of racism when we became customers. At a grocery store the cashiers didn't bag our groceries and left them there as if we were animals. That just showed the big contrast between America and other countries. The American identity is so strong that a lot of other countries, cultures and individuals do not appreciate nor respect it one bit. Either they pursue it or they hate it. Even though these nations are more mature or open about certain things, they still have a closed mentality and attitude towards America. America can be immature in some aspects of explicitly open things or nudity, but there is openness to ethnicity and race, which is where we get the whole “Melting Pot” concept. There is an opportunity to open up the mind to the broad choices that can be endless in this nation.

But of course in this kind of environment there is no such thing as perfection. Even with the freedom that is given in America, especially when compared to other nations, it isn’t always freedom. There can be controversies and other matters within the government that make it just that much easier to dislike, especially in other countries and regions. The United States of America is known stereotypically for interfering in problems that pertain in no way to them, which causes the conflict of interest to grow deeper. For example, cases such as the wars we have had to deal with often times have nothing to do with us; simply our interest to help is what brought it upon us. It is a great trait to want to help; however, it can also lead to tragedy and baggage often times difficult to handle. A perfect example of that is the war in Afghanistan that led to the tragedy America has experience to change us forever: September 11^th, 2001.

In the times of tragedy for America, it was that one day that changed the way things would function, both positively and negatively. Homeland security became the main priority in what Americans wanted to strengthen. A young, naïve and open nation was transformed into an informed and cautious nation all at the crashing of a plane, destroying the lives of many innocents. Negatively, America took no mercy upon any citizens who had a threat of terrorism in any way about them, which sort of brought into question the Constitution and Bill of Rights and how they were being violated. At the same time, since it was a matter of national security, it would be deemed acceptable. But if everything we stand for is suddenly contradicted, where does America stand liable?

Those questions rarely have an answer; however, one thing that can be said is the idea of America being one of the greatest places to be is one that is hard to deny. Regardless of the issues we have faced, the positives that America can offer outweigh all the other circumstances. It is no wonder so many people want to come here and find a life and a way better than what they originally had. It is a place of opportunity, and thankfully through the negativity, there is still the acceptance of those coming to join the citizenship so many of us Americans benefit from greatly.

But how can I apply this to myself? Am I still just a Latin American finding a way? Or have I found it yet? I can say that I have found a way here and I can be proud to say I am an American. Not only am I a Latina, but I am an American because I have found myself and allowed all of the cultures encountered to become my own person. I cannot say I live up to the stereotype of either an American or a Latin American as people expect; rather, I make my own type of person. The person I am proud to be, who doesn’t identify themselves through race, nor color, nor language, region or advancement. I identify myself through my experiences and what I have learned from them. That is where I can say that I truly know who I am. The only way to describe myself in race is Latin America, but the way I identify myself is through my experiences. I have broken the curse of generational curses both Latin American and American.

Identity is so important to people simply because it is the only way to truly say one is an individual. These experiences have taught me to understand the difference between culture and choice. America gives us the choice to be who we want:  no matter what race or background, we can become who we want. It is in our right to do so, our birth-given rights. Being forced into a category of some kind just sounds so ridiculous and even outrageous. Although in the end it is up to the individual to allow that to happen or to change it.

The Fluidity of Identity

Here's Rice Nelson's Identification Project!

The Fluidity of Identity

If someone asked you to explain your identity to them, how would you begin?  You would probably, naturally, start by giving your name.  What would you tell them next?  The type of ethnic blood that runs through your veins?  Do you tell them that you have nothing but Italian blood in your veins and you are proud of it?  But blood does not matter much, at least it shouldn’t, because your blood is the same as the person asking you about your identity.  Maybe you would then say, well, I have skin that is this or that color.  They would probably blink at you, because unless they are blind, they already know what color your skin is.  That does not matter either, though.  Defining your identity by the color of your skin is like pointing out the living room wall to the north is green, while the one to the south is blue; they are both walls, so it doesn’t do much to differentiate.  At the same time, though, these are some aspects that are used to categorize people so that they are easily identified.  An unfortunate side effect of naturally categorizing--it’s human nature to do this--as well as socially categorizing people is that in the process stereotypes tend to formulate.  The problem with generalized stereotypes is that on an individual-by-individual basis there are a lot of fallacies; everyone is different in some way.

This is a reason why I find identity to be a funny subject.  Now, I don’t mean funny as in “let’s make a joke about this or that group of people” because they are different from what we know and consider to be normal; this attitude only creates negativity that, if left to flourish, can create some pretty nasty situations of discrimination.  No, the reason I find it funny is because of my own personal identity.  When looking back on my life I have realized that over the years my identity has not been one that is constant, and I think if you stop and look at your own past you would realize that yours hasn’t been either.  Nonetheless, when identity is discussed it seems to me that it often is spoken about as some concrete idea, some thing that is a permanent marker of who or what a person is.  That’s not the case, though.  So there is something amusing, for me at least, in the realization that, when looking back over my life, whenever I found myself identifying my person as this or that, at various points in my history on this planet, I never had conceived of being anything different than what I was at that moment in time.

What I’m trying to get at is that identity is not so easily defined, but that doesn’t stop us from creating categories as a means of identifying people so that we can quickly come to a conclusion about who they are and how we should interact with them.  But despite the fluidity that I find being involved with the concept of identity, there have always been two categories that I place myself in: a reader and a gamer.  Some of you may find this as a strange way to begin identifying who I am as a person; others of you will completely understand why I use these two qualities to start with.  The ones that find this strange might be the people who would typically start off with what race or nationality or ethnicity they are or religion they follow; this isn’t uncommon.  For a long time now, probably since the first semblance of civilization, those qualities were the ones that people most readily acknowledged--on a primal nature, recognizing these descriptors could be used to determine safety or hostility.  Those that understand why I started with those interests are probably the same kind of people that would identify themselves first as sports players, or cooking enthusiasts, or engineers, etc.  That, I think, is a shift from previous ways of determining identity, because for me identity is more useful when utilized as means of figuring out interests.  I find it much more amiable to figure out interests and passions rather than figuring out whether or not the next person over believes in the same deity as I do or if our ancestors are from the same mother country.  To that end, let me tell you a little about myself and how I have identified who I was over the years.

            As I said, I have always had at least the two identifiers of being a reader and a gamer.  They have been hobbies of mine that have been consistent within my life since I was old enough to read and able enough to handle a controller of some sort.  When it came time to start making friends it would typically be the people who either were gamers and/or readers.  Even these two things could be broken down into subcategories; for example, I would have more to talk about with those readers that enjoyed fantasy fiction like I did.  The reason I like to identify myself with my interests first, if it wasn’t already obvious, is because it makes meeting people and creating friendships easier, and probably in the long run stronger.  Back in the late '80s and early '90s, though, these means of identifying myself for others didn’t seem like the most popular way of doing so; at the time, being anything resembling a geeky kid felt like instant social estrangement.  This is just one reason that I do my best not to look at differences and mentally, or verbally, degrade my view of a person.  Relief came as the years went on, though, and I met more and more individuals who were like-minded.  And as great as these two big interests are, they did keep me in a somewhat sheltered state until after graduating high school, although a large part of that was probably due to my shyness.

            After graduation I figured my identity as a gamer and bookworm caused me to miss out on a lot of those “high school” experiences--which, at the time, I considered to be mostly partying.  So, one of the first things I started doing, in lieu of going off to college, was to start seeking out people that had similar interests in getting intoxicated in various ways and drowning myself in altered states of consciousness.  Wherever I was working I would do my best to ferret out those people that had that same urge to “get fucked up” that I did.  Those first few years after graduation consisted, then, of working and partying: I worked to pay for intoxication.  During this time I came to find myself forming a new identity to be categorized under: a pothead.

            There is a whole subculture to the lifestyle of a pothead, but that shouldn’t be a surprise, it’s been around for quite some time.  Here, now, was another way to define identity, that is, what kind of lifestyle do you have?  Whereas before it was simply partying, now there was something more specific.  Again, wherever I was working, or whatever party I might have been at, the first thing I would figure out was who the other reefer smokers were.  That more or less detailed the next five or six years of my life, and at the time that is as far as I could see at the time, just being a smoker.  Who I was and identified myself as became intrinsically tied up with my lifestyle.  All the people I met, hung out with, and avoided, depended on whether or not they also smoked marijuana; sure, my identifiers of being a reader and gamer were still there, but they took a backseat to my then current habits.  This way of living lasted a good, or bad--depending on how you look at it--six years or so; then the next shift in identity started sneaking into my life.

            I didn’t realize it during the time, but those substance indulgences were serving a purpose, one that was no longer effective.  This purpose is, I think, more common than one might think: the use of a drug (be it alcohol, marijuana, or any of the numerous others) to cover up from ourselves a problem we have.  For me, this problem was depression.  At first, the trick worked great; I completely forgot about any kind of worries or issues I had.  But in fact, the post-high school lifestyle and identity I had chosen, at some point, were only worsening the depression and anxiety.  When I realized that, I took a good look at my life.  I looked at the way I was living, the friends I kept, and thought about what I was doing for myself in the long run.  I determined that the identity I had fallen into, or walked into, was not the one I wanted, and so I made a choice to escape the category I had placed myself in.  This is one of those things that is easier said than done.

            So, shortly before I came to Fredonia I made a choice to better myself in every way I could.  I started by separating myself from the people that still wanted that kind of lifestyle; this way it would be easier to change what I felt needed changing.  Once that was done I began seeking ways to provide self-healing so that I could escape the depression and anxiety that I had accompanying me for so long.  As a result I found myself becoming a fairly spiritual person--I say fairly because I know there are others that devote a lot more time to their spiritual practices than I do, but I will acknowledge that time commitments to school play a part in that.  I began my search for a different self-identity (although I didn’t think of it that way at the time), and through my meditations, the learning of various kinds of spiritual thought, and the modes of healing I participate in and with, I formed a different way of living.  These things have become a crucial aspect of who I am today.  I try to surround myself with people of a similar mind-set, but I am also open and aware to the differences of the people around me.

Think about a major aspect of your life.  Think about all the people associated with that aspect, think about all those things you have become comfortable with, and think about what they mean to you.  Now think about removing them all.  I’m not telling you that you should actually do this, but I want you to think about how difficult it would be to pull out of your life all those facets of your character.  It’s not easy.  These are characteristics that you have either grown up with or grown into.  Now I want you to think about those people that you find to have differences of their own that seemingly separate them from you.  While identity can help categorize people, as our human minds naturally want to do, there shouldn’t be a whole load of judgmental weight put behind those categorizations.

Identity is fluid, and to put only one generalized identifier on someone leaves out all the other things they may be.  When we confine people, it doesn’t do us any good.  As I have mentioned previously, I had lived a relatively sheltered life as a young child.  My experiences with those outside of my own family and friends, social class, and ways of living were rather limited, even up through high school.  I know I’m not the only one that has experienced this kind of personal history. Through this upbringing an idea of what people were like was formed, and there wasn’t much that changed my view until many years of my life had gone by.  Even going over the events of my life, it is hard to pinpoint some experience that was truly significant in its effect on my notion of identities, more specifically, the American Identity.  Not until I was twenty-six did I have an experience that was capable of showing me the differences in who we are, generally speaking, opposed to someone not from this country.  This happened when I was taking a Writing Tutors class and we had the opportunity to help tutor a group of Japanese students over the course of several weeks.

Not knowing a whole lot about Japanese culture, because undoubtedly culture is inherently tied into identity, just like lifestyle is, I was surprised by how proper, if that is the right word, the four initial students we met were.  Their posture was very straight--I am fairly certain, if memory serves me correctly, that there was not one sloucher among them.  Their manners were very polite, almost timid and apologetic.  Just these two things felt strikingly different than the idea of the usual American’s presentation of one’s self would be; unfortunately an image of an American slouching and entitlement comes to mind, rather than someone who is of a reserved nature. 

Reserved is a very good word to describe these girls from Japan, especially when comparing them to the usual American.  I never realized the sense of freedom of character that we have here until we--the group of us in the Writing Tutors class--began hanging out with the Japanese students.  One way this stuck out to me was when we all gathered at someone’s house for a pizza and movie night.  The group of us introduced them to the movie Superbad, since we all were in consensus about how funny the movie is.  This turned out to be an interesting ordeal since we had to explain to them a lot of the slang and idioms in the movie that we, as Americans, take for granted.  It gave me the feeling that, generally, Americans are somewhat “loose” in conduct; but, then, this is only a comparison to four young students from one country.  Nonetheless, the values they were taught were completely ignored in the movie we were showing them.

The experience as a whole was very interesting because I had an opportunity to compare my own ways of living and thinking to that of a group of individuals from another country.  On a surface level it was a comparison of two national identifiers: American and Japanese.  Once the initial introduction was done, and I had time to really converse with the visiting students, I found that they weren’t entirely too different from anyone here.  They still identified themselves in relation to their interests and what they wanted to do with their lives.  As it turns out, the identity of being American or Japanese was almost superficial, barring some cultural differences.  We were able to compare the kinds of music we liked, what kind of reading we enjoyed, movies we were most interested in, and even whether or not we had similar tastes in video games.

When we look at ourselves as a nation and try to compare us to another country in a negative way we lose opportunities to have a more universal understanding of being human.  We still have a tendency to think about ourselves as American and to use it as a base comparison.  But what it means to be an American has changed numerous times throughout history, no doubt.  We have had so many sources tell us what exactly it means and how to properly be an American that it almost seems impossible to figure out a way to define and understand that notion.  Honestly, there has been few times where I have actually thought about the idea of an American identity, so this will be an exploration for me of the understanding of what that should be.

From early on we are given the idea that we are this great nation under God--which seems to be the Christian sense of God, rather than what should appropriately be a universal understanding of what a higher power may be, if this notion is to be included at all, considering we are, or at least from my understanding should be, a nation that values freedom of choice in religion and thought rather than a direct link to one particular belief.  This acceptance that we are a part of a nation that is supported by God might be part of the reason why Americans believe that it is our duty to bring awareness to others in the world on how to properly conduct themselves, which usually involves bringing our ideas of capitalism and democracy to other areas of the globe. 

So it would seem that part of our identity would include a sort of light-bearer role to the rest of the world, a model for others to follow.  While this is a great idea in that, just as people, nations should have someone as a role model, the problem is that no one is perfect.  I believe that it might do well to no longer see ourselves as a shining example of all that a nation should be, because, let’s face it, as we’re currently seeing, the condition of things here is not exactly rosy.  Instead I think it would be prudent to identify ourselves not as perfection, but rather a nation that is a work in progress always seeking to better ourselves.  This may be tied up in my own personal values as an individual, but it is a notion that feels right.

That is a macro look at the identity of America and may be sidetracking the issue of what my beliefs/principles on how we ought to define and understand American identities.  As nationals of America we can define ourselves in a variety of ways.  After getting past the nation we are a part of, we can look at more individual aspects of ourselves.  A problem with looking at individual parts of our identity to create a larger group to identify with, though, is that these can create barriers between ourselves and other Americans that may not necessarily share those same traits.  Unfortunately it seems that we have always been led to create these barriers: are you black or are you white?  Are you a Republican or Democrat? What’s your gender preference? Yankees fan or Red Sox?  We have built this inherent tendency to side ourselves in unnecessary oppositions. 

Getting beyond the “sides” of how we identify ourselves would be difficult, but maybe it is possible.  Maybe we would be able, one day, to just say that our American identity is that we are human.  Then, maybe, we could just use those identity cues as categories, rather than a standpoint.  As I said earlier, though, identity is fluid to me.  For me personally, I am a gamer, a reader, a tai chi practitioner, a spiritual-minded person, and so much more at once.  I guess the reason that I find identity kind of funny, then, is because while it gets made out to be this concrete thing, I don’t think it can be.