Making sense of your identity in a global community.

In an ever growing global world, our understanding of what defines, creates and shapes our identities is constantly changing. Although not an inherently bad thing, this reality creates an identity crisis in young adults, like myself, who just don’t seem to fit in. When identity norms haven’t caught up to the contemporary world of globalisation, how can we make sense of who we are?

One key issue with the lack of clarity that young adults face about who they are is that if we cannot understand the boxes that we are put in, we end up internalising these prescribed identities that we are told we belong, or that we don’t belong. This has been an issue which I have been grappling with subconsciously for most of my short life, and I know I’m not the only one. That is why I decided it’s probably time to put what my mind has been questioning into words.

So, who am I?

There are many facets to our beings, we cannot be described as one thing, belonging to one group, one ideology, one history, so this is a pretty big question. But let’s try to break me down: I am a woman, I am a young adult (some say Millennial, some say Gen Z, don’t really belong in either- you see the problem?), I am a minority, I am a child of the diaspora, I am an immigrant, I am a feminist, I am a socialist, I am a student, I am these things and more. But these terms and these groups do not give enough detail to really describe who I am or where I fit into my society. Life is not as linear as it used to be. Social mobility has increased in some aspects, but stayed the same in others. While my family’s journey has allowed me the opportunity to study in some of the world’s best universities it has been unable to provide some crucial opportunities which my peers’ family’s have.

We can start to see the discrepancy a little here right? My family are migrants, we emigrated here only in the last couple of decades. We have no roots in this country, we have no connections outside of the diaspora community to which we belong, we have very little opportunity to grow and break out of our immigrant identity. This of course will change for generations to come, as our family grows the next generation will have a generation more of connection to this place. However, in the meantime, we mix with our generational peers who have very different experiences. Because of this reason, while when you look at our identities from the outside myself and a fellow student may fit into most of the same categories, the same cannot be said about our life experiences and the opportunities we will have in the future.

Now this is nothing new, it isn’t breaking news nor is it a new discovery which will alter the way we describe our identities. However, I wanted to put these facts these realities that people like myself face, in order to ensure we don’t internalise some of the negative feelings that come with misunderstanding who you are. For example, again looking from the outside in: I am able to study in a world renowned university, I grew up in one of the richest, most affluent cities in the world, I have the privilege of studying a Master’s degree, however compared to a lot of my peers I have no field experience, I have spent much less time preparing for my classes and doing extra work for class, I haven’t volunteered, nor is my CV nearly as good as theirs. It is very easy to argue that I just am not as motivated, not as proactive as they are, maybe I’m just a lazy student, in fact it’s safe to say that on paper I just don’t deserve this internship, or this entry level job because look at my peers, if they can do it so should I.

Sound’s very much like imposter syndrome doesn’t it?

Making sense of where we belong, when globalisation has allowed for us to mix amongst social classes is crucial, so we don’t end up internalising these false judgements about our abilities, or where we are in life. Instead of judging what we have achieved or where we are at this moment in life compared to our peers, who are our peers in one aspect of our identity (such as our connection as students), we can understand where we are in our journey. Many of us find we have imposter syndrome to some degree at one point in our lives but the earlier we realise that other people’s judgements or descriptions of who we are and where we should be doesn’t matter, and doesn’t define us our our abilities, the sooner we can overcome these hurdles. I choose how I view myself. Do I want to be known as an immigrant with no connections and no experience to her name, or do I want to present myself as an immigrant who, above all odds is learning and building her connections and her experiences? I choose the latter because I’ve realised that just because I have less experience and opportunity than my peers currently, doesn’t make me a bad student or a lazy one. I refuse to doubt my abilities and do not believe that I am an imposter, because I belong. I worked hard to get this far, despite being miles behind other students who have connections thanks to their families, who have experience that they can leverage in interviews thanks to those connections. Sure, they may find it easier to land a good job fresh out of university, and they may struggle less to build on their existing experience with more internships, but only I can decide where I want to be in 3/5/10 years’ time.

Other people’s success doesn’t define you.

Especially now that our identities are so complex and convoluted. There was no use comparing yourself to someone else before, and in my opinion, there is even less use now. It is all a matter of perspective, so being aware of your identity, you as a whole, will be the key that releases you from the boxes you have created- or let others create that has defined who you are. Let go of the unnecessary opinions you have shaped about yourself, and define who you are yourself.