I've noticed something about the way we all talk.
"I'm a journalism major."
"I'm white."
"I'm a vegetarian."
"I'm a journalism major."
"I'm white."
"I'm a vegetarian."
"I am ..."
The list could go on. Millions of quick self-descriptions exist.
The list could go on. Millions of quick self-descriptions exist.
We make more every day.
Maybe I'm being ridiculous and these are actually good ways to describe yourself. They get to the point -- I can admit that. Evolutionarily speaking, they also help us make quick judgments and to categorize.
Maybe I'm being ridiculous and these are actually good ways to describe yourself. They get to the point -- I can admit that. Evolutionarily speaking, they also help us make quick judgments and to categorize.
It just gets under my skin and I can't be sorry about it.
Wouldn't it be nice to hear, 'I'd rather not eat meat,' or 'I am studying journalism,' as opposed to labeling myself as a certain student and by what I eat? I wish peoples' language didn't reveal how desperately everyone is seeking an identity.
But if the language reflects truth, maybe there's something else to get at.
amen, amen, amen. i think i might just flag this and pull it out on rainy days. any time we label something (including ourselves) we diminish it (us). it may make life easier, but not better.
ReplyDeletei just finished eat love pray and i loved the moment she talks about sitting in the palm of God and thinking on life and those labels and laughing with the full realization of how insignificant those things are. we are everything. not just bits and pieces, but the whole.
love, love this post.
Every time a person declares him or herself as something, they then become that. Your words create your world.
ReplyDeleteSaying "I'm a vegetarian" or "I'm a journalist" all the time makes it more real. Spoken aloud, declared, ideas gain power.
I like I am statements. They are a way for us to create ourselves in the world.