[On Identity] Do you ever feel like you’re not defined by what you do for a living or even where you’re from but the way you think or do things?
I recently interviewed @shopify for a UX Research intern position. They called it “lifestory” because you basically talk about your life during the interview. There should no surprises yet there were.
The interviewer asked me what it was like to grow up in Hong Kong. The seemingly easy and harmless question triggered an existential crisis inside me. It’s like asking a fish what it is like to live in water. I said something along the line that it was a very competitive place to be, it was stressful, etc. I rambled.
The truth is, I don’t think being born and raised in Hong Kong particularly represents me. It certainly makes up a part of who I am. I am impatient and I expect efficiency of all kinds. But these are not unique symptoms of Hongkongers, and certainly not uniquely “me”. I don’t feel the fact that I grew up in HK defines me.
Don’t get me wrong. I AM a Hongkonger. But I’m questioning the meaning of being one and its significance - what does being a HKer say about me and should I care?
At the same time, I fully acknowledge that labels are a quick and easy way for us to draw reference - if you’re Canadian, you’re probably friendly; if you’re a CEO of some company, you’re probably wealthy. Stereotypical yet more often than not they are true and informative. They are the backbone of our natural conversations.
In the perfect world, I think everyone should only be defined by their characters or virtues - courageous, selfless, intellectual, etc. But this approach creates its own set of problems. They are vague and subjective.
We like to think there’s always a relationship between the past and present, or between the things we do and who we are. We like to connect the “dots”. But I’m afraid a lot of time these connections are largely contextual - they exist purely because of the environment and have nothing to do with who you really are.
And it pains me that I cannot fully and authentically express who I am in a few words or minutes.
I don’t want to be misunderstood.
Photo Credit: @rellowyar / @algerliang
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