For me, college has been a lot more than learning things for my future career. It has been just as much about finding who I was. So cliche, right? But being put into a new environment where you no one really gives you the space to figure out who you really are without any outside influence. Finding and pinpointing those identities is so important. I'd say it is crucial to self-development and growth.
Who am I? I identify as a female. I am spiritual. I am biracial - black and white (if we are talking what exact ethnicities, I have no idea but I am working on that). When it comes to sexuality, I like boys most of the time (and some days I would be fine with eradicating their entire gender from the Earth). I am middle class (and still considered apart of my parent's household). I am a South Georgian (and I rep the 912 quite hard). And I am apart of Generation Z, not a millennial.
What is Generation Z? According to the Pew Research Center, this is the generation that follows the Millennials (born from 1981 to 1996, ages 23 to 38). Generation Z is the last of the nineties babies and the new 2000 generation (born from 1997 and onward, the oldest at 22). I think it is important to use our youth and access to technology as best as we can. We are innovative and creative in thinking considering we have had access to a multitude of social media platforms and different technology for our entire lives. We have always been accustom to automatically Google the answer to every question and were able to keep in touch with people who live all over the world. We are open minded, open to change, and never afraid to express our feelings, thoughts, and concerns.
It cannot be denied that we as Americans (and many other people all around the world) have been taught to criticize differing identities since the beginning of time. It is what comes naturally. Many of our brain defaults to wondering why that boy is wearing makeup or why someone is wearing a hijab because most of us were taught that only girls wear makeup and you should probably be Christian if you know what's best for you. It's okay to have beliefs and opinions, but it is absolutely NOT okay to criticize others for their own personal beliefs and opinions. It is NOT okay to judge them for their identities, because it is the reflection of who they are and what they feel.
It's time to focus less on what everyone else is doing and focus more on who you are. Dive into what you believe, what you deem as important, or who you want to love. We will all be doing each other a favor by giving each other enough space to explore and define who we are. Just like you want to be able to practice your religion, dress how you dress, and love who love, other people in our society with different identities want that too. No matter their age, religion, race, sexuality, class, gender, or background. We all deserve to live in an environment where we can all coexist. We deserve to have institutions and systems that keep us safe and allow us to be our very best selves.
It's about time that the hate stops and I believe Generation Z has enough exposure due to having information at the tip of our fingertips to start making sure the necessary changes. Churches cannot continue to get shot up, families cannot be separated, and people cannot continue to die or face mistreatment because of who they are. This is a problem that is so much bigger than the government's involvement in "identity politics."
This is a people issue. And us as people need to vow to protect and more importantly, respect one another. Choose to be empathic. Think about what it would be like to walk in someone else's shoes. Catch yourself when you think or act in ways that may be harmful to a person who is not exactly like you. Go into situations with an open heart and mind, because you never know what you might learn. Embrace the change, but never stop trying to be the change.
