The Medford Experience!
I remember thinking to myself when I first applied to Tufts, “Why Medford of all places?”. My whole life, all I ever wanted was to move to a big…
On the first day of my Japanese Architecture class last week, Professor Kaminishi introduced the word “ma,” which means “space and time” in Japanese. This word is relevant in our class because it refers to rooms, as well as spaces between posts or structures. It is the same word that is used to explain distance between two things, which extends to also describe relations between people. Interestingly, the character for “ma” is included in the kanji (Chinese-style Japanese character) for the word “ningen,” which translates to “human.” This idea — that people’s relations to others are integral to the definition of “human” — really resonated with me at this point in my life. I’ve been thinking a lot about identity and relationships recently, as my family ages and as I become increasingly independent.
Japanese kanji for "human" (pronounced "nin-gen")
“Identity” is a big concept and one that I don’t think anyone can fully define — but I’d like to share the closest I’ve gotten to summing it up. I believe your identity is what follows you wherever you go and whoever you’re with, while being molded from the places you’ve been and people you’ve known. And for this reason, I think it takes transplanting yourself into a new environment and community to start to find out what makes you, you.
I began to really think about what constitutes my identity when I truly stepped outside of my hometown for the first time. It was while participating in a few summer programs before my junior year of high school that I saw how I could be received by a brand new community. People picked up on my humor, my opinions, and my behavior in group settings. I saw how I could feel shy sometimes and bold others — silly often and serious when necessary. It was in this new setting that I feel I first started to have an idea of who I was in a way that was dependent upon more than just my accomplishments in school, sports, or social scenes.
I am saying this now because I have ventured much further from my high school community in the four years since that summer, and because I suspect you’re starting to do the same. As I grow, I spend increasingly less time at home in Colorado and find myself surrounded by novelty often. And while I definitely think that relationships both affect and reflect who we are as human beings, I think that my identity is who I am when I’m alone as much as when I’m in a group. This year, I’m putting more thought into myself and my experiences than I ever did before (Exhibit A: this blog post), and I am more confident in my own skin as I put more effort into knowing myself.
GIF from giphy.com
It’s a fun little process, growing up, and college is an incredible time to try new things and find your strengths/weaknesses as they develop. Venturing away from the community that has been home to your life to this point — be it your family, high school, hometown, or something else entirely — is a daunting feat. You want to find a place that excites you and an environment of people who can help you become someone you’re proud of as you become your own person in the world. For me, Tufts has offered so many opportunities to challenge myself and has allowed me to do so in a community of people who model qualities that I, too, want to show. People here inspire me to be myself — or, at least, try to figure out exactly what that means.
So as you embark on your college (read: identity) search, don’t discredit the importance of community and place. Know that there is so much more to your identity than the prestige of the school you attend or the title of the major you intend to declare. Try to think of the people and opportunities in the places you’re considering, as well as the attributes of your identity that you want to cultivate. Who knows? You just might love the “ningen” you find yourself becoming.
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