I started this journey arrogant of my identity. I thought I was as sure as I would ever be about who I am. I didn’t expect to change, or grow, or discover anything new about myself. I thought it cliche.
But oh how the mighty fall.
I don’t think I “changed” per se, I think I discovered something that was already there hiding deep inside my spirit. Suddenly I was brave and bold and daring. Suddenly I was the person in the group the others relied on to ask strangers questions, to ask for directions, to spark conversations, to be the “brave one.” And I felt comfortable in that role. It didn’t seem foreign or new or scary even, it seemed natural. It felt right. Talking to strangers felt right. Maybe it was the people I was talking to, maybe the country of Ireland itself draws that out of everyone. The people there seem to all be born with that unique gift. But I like to think it was me, becoming more comfortable with who I am. Who I was always meant to be.
I came across a lot of different people while abroad; people from all over the country and all over the world. and every single one of them seemed to be searching for something different. One of my good friends in Ireland was from Ohio, and she told me explicitly that she came abroad to find her identity. She seemed so lost in herself, so confused as to what and who she was supposed to be and she thought that maybe going abroad would help. She hoped to find some shred of herself, some clue to help her find her way. And she wasn’t the only one.
We are all constantly trying to reimagine ourselves refusing to believe that we know who we are. We search our whole lives, sometimes to the end of the earth to find our identity. And what I have discovered is that our identity is reflected back to us in the faces of everyone we meet. No matter where you are in the world, no matter who you are, or what you’ve done, or why you’re here, we’re all human. In the purest and simplest form of the word. We are human: beautiful and strange and unique and messed up and confused and certain and kind and good and unpredictable and human. That is our identity.