Everyone has different identities. They are like our name tags following us around. Some identities we inherit from our parents and ancestors. Some identities we acquire on our own. Often, we get to choose our own identities just as how we can choose our names. However, that’s not always the case: people love to make assumptions, and when they see others around them, they assign name tags, even if they know nothing about these other people. 

In this world, human beings look at each other all the time and put countless numbers of tags on those around them. This is not a one-way relationship, though - when the world looks at you, you look back at the world. How the world views you and how you view the world are deeply connected. One can easily influence the other. Many times, we might involuntarily mold ourselves into the identities others put upon us. We can’t stop caring about what society thinks of us, even more than what we think of ourselves. It is as if by doing that, we can make more friends, receive more compliments, and be recognized and accepted by others. Acceptance, yes! We all are so eager for acceptance. We want it so much that we are even willing to sacrifice our own original identity for it when two identities come into conflict.

So, who are we, really, really deep inside? Our true selves? Or the ghosts of others?

Many of these identity conflicts are often caused by geographic separation: the oceans that set us apart. When our ancestors didn’t yet have the means of transportation to get very far away from their homelands, people were separated by mountains, lakes, deserts, and oceans. Thus, each individual group developed its own culture, its own identity. When transcontinental transportation and boats that could travel across the ocean were invented, people came together and became one big family, albeit one with many differences. The cultural differences between each group caused conflicts.

Examples of things that cause conflict are nationality and ethnicity. Being a citizen of one country while having an ethnicity tied to another can sometimes cause imbalance. When people with distinct identities meet, it’s like two colors clashing together. Some might find peace and an interesting new color. Others, however, find conflict and disharmony in the mix. Many people think you can only be one thing and one thing only: either you are American, for instance, or you are not. However, there are large populations of immigrants and the descendants of immigrants all around the world. They have multiple identities: Asian Americans, African Americans, and many more.… They carry on the cultures of their ancestors in their current selves. It is exactly this multiplicity that makes these people not somehow lesser, but richer in their identities. One plus one is not less than one; in fact, it’s more than two. Human beings should never be ashamed of their roots. Because roots translate into who we are – an identity.

Although our ancestors were separated physically, now that we have come together as a big family, we should celebrate the similarities and differences among every single one of us. We are no longer separated by a large expanse of sea.