Yes, Thanks to a lovely video by a certain English major who makes lovely videos, today* I am thinking about "imagined communities." Of course, now the book she mentioned by Benedict Anderson is now going on my reading list for the summer**.
I am about to leave some very important communities. In a few days, I will be leaving the community I have made for myself at Syracuse University. And while I've posted here about my complicated relationship with the school, it is a community that I chose for myself. It has meaning in my identity. I will be away from the physical space but I'll still hold the Orange community with me as I go abroad and I'll be back in Fall 2012 (to graduate, how weird is that?!). Syracuse University is a "real" community, so in that way it's not completely "imagined." But it is also a community that I chose for myself, and I kept choosing for myself despite doubts. That's why I think my ties to this school are just as important as the inherent ties I have to other communities.
For example, in a few months I will be leaving my family and my nation. These are two communities that I was born into, and they are very, very much a part of my identity. I didn't choose them but they are a part of my selfhood. And I'll also be bringing them with me as I travel. So once again I hope the ties will not be weakened because of physical distance. One of the scary things about travel and changes is that it threatens the strengths of the bonds you've made and kept up over the years. It's a test.
There are also other communities (whether "natural" or "constructed") that are important to me: friends from school and home, various communities I've been a part of through the internet***, my hometown community of Baltimore, etc.
Perhaps this adventure of studying abroad that I am about to embark on will show the real strengths of my natural and constructed communities and identities of myself. Basically, what has more power over my identity: where I come from or who I choose to become? It's a balance, of course. Identity is a complex thing, made up of millions of bits of a person, i.e. these words that I'm writing, what I ate for breakfast, as well as what sports teams I support and my political beliefs. It's all part of an identity. Whether a certain aspect is natural or constructed does not change the overall identity****.
[EDIT, 5/2/2011 10am: I am astounded by the changes that can occur in 48 hours. There are thoughts expressed in this blog post that need to be reassessed. I'm not sure how my thoughts are changing in response to life events. As I post this, I still haven't made sense of how I'm feeling.]
Links to vides mentioned in this post:
Rosianna's video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJAouxYY4tg&feature=feedu
*This was written on Saturday, April 30. For some reason I have an overflow of blogs at the end of this month. Once again makes me wonder about the worth of this ritual. See my most recent posts for that discussion.
**It's beginning to get impossibly long. The curse of an English major - you can never conquer an ever-growing reading list.
***Harry Potter fandom, YouTube, etc.
****Obviously, I'm feeling very existential today.
No comments:
Post a Comment