Identity

Whatever labels or adjectives can be used to describe someone will never be as fitting as their names.

What do I mean by that? There are hundreds of words that can be strung together in a sentence to describe the personality, the actions, the first impressions, and the physical appearances of a person. The truth of the matter is that there is no better word to encompass a person than their names.

A name is what we use to distinguish ourselves from others. Simply put, it is what people call to easily distinguish who we are refering to. Interestingly, a name isn't actually just a label or something to be called by; it is something that everybody can identify themselves with. A name is an identity.

Nationality is an identity but does it single-handedly define who one individual is? Some people say that ethnicity is identity but does it single-handedly define who one individual is? Family is identity but that identity doesn't characterize you.

The marvelous aspect that I've stumbled upon is that my name, my state of being, is my identity. I have other 'identities' but the one that encompasses me as an individual and has that personal level of intimacy is my name. Even more than that, my identity is me, myself, and I.

I have an ethnicity that I am proud of, a nationality about which nobody could be more patriotic than i, and a family that I cherish and love deeply. But I am myself. I am unlike every other person in the world. Everybody is different. It's a truth that many people still have trouble accepting today. It is not okay to criticize someone for being different. What IS perfectly acceptable is for me to be comfortable in my own skin, to not follow the crowd, to have different ideas, and to be proud of who I am.

It's more than alright for everyone else to feel the same.