Reflecting on "I am __ but also__" Statements

As we receive "I am ___ but also__" statements, we become more enlightened to hear everyones reaction and ideas of what this project means to them. We have come to find that statements do no have to be so profound or deep in meaning to have powerful effects. Sometimes the most compelling statements are simple and often times mean lots to those who wrote them. Personally, I gain even more respect for the project as time progresses and Clemson's campus becomes more involved. 

Statements can be funny, some are serious, many are deep in meaning; but either way they have people talking on campus and that is what we want. Our hope is that Clemson will become comfortable in talking about identity in order to break certain stereotypes and create a more acceptable outlook on those around us. Feel free to comment on our blog and give us your "I am _ but also _" statement. 

Reflections on the Library Bridge Event

This was a big week for our Comm 495 class as it was our time working the library bridge and unveiling our Identity Project to Clemson’s campus. As I was working the table, I found myself relieved to finally get started and proud of the work our 495 class has put in so far. Sitting at our table and interacting with passerby’s was a unique experience in that I got to see the reactions of students and faculty, many of whom had never heard of our Identity Project. Variety was the name of the game today. Initial reactions on the bridge ranged from confused, to supportive, with one student exclaiming that he loved our project and had hoped we would be back again this year! It seemed as though conceptualizing the idea of one’s identity was difficult for some, yet simple for others.  Some students were very protective of their responses to the I am___, but also____ prompt, while others were very open and wrote them right on the banner with everyone watching. Examples written on the banner were comical, intellectual, ironic, thought provoking, and everything in between. If anything, the reactions and responses we received yesterday illustrate the diversity that exists on Clemson’s campus. Overall, I enjoyed seeing our Identity Project get off to such a great start and look forward to seeing its continued success through the remainder of the semester! 

Our First Dialogue Experience

A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to do something unique that allowed us to put our “I am __ but also __” conversations into practice. Our 495 class was asked to go into a Comm 201 class and facilitate a dialogue session.

This was my first experience being a part of a dialogue session, much less leading a group, but I felt like it went really well. We split ourselves into 4 groups and the Comm 201 class was split into 4 groups. We started out by explaining last year’s project and then told them about this year’s project. Our group wasn’t familiar with the project last year, but they were fairly talkative and willing to share their opinions on identity issues. Most of them admitted that they had felt stereotyped at one point or another in their life.

One of the questions we asked them was “do you recall a time when you were discouraged from discussing/asking questions about identity?” The group had a hard time coming up with specific examples, but they felt like these issues are often hard to discuss because they require you to dig beneath the surface and enter into a more serious conversation, which is the goal of our project. One girl said that it’s not exactly “dinner table conversation.” She said it wasn’t something that her and her friends choose to discuss frequently because there is a level of discomfort and it can also affect relationships. Our group also said it’s hard to talk about identity issues sometimes because people have changing identities. They also discussed how it’s hard to rise above expectations and stereotypes at times. At the end of the session, we gave group members the option to fill out a “I am ____ but also ____” notecard.

I found the dialogue session to be very insightful and helpful to our project. We will be holding dialogue sessions at our culminating event, so this was good practice. I’m excited to be a part of more conversations to come as we make people aware of our campaign through conversations on the library bridge, wearing our T-shirts and buttons and leading discussions during our culminating event on April 25^th. 

Finding and Owning YOUR Identity

After the conversation we had in class on Thursday on revealing our personal phrases, many thoughts were going through my mind.  Up until that discussion, I had been giving my phrase a lot of thought but had never expressed these ideas. It was a very interesting experience to finally vocalize the phrases I had been thinking. I had always been considering identity as traits that set me apart; and not necessarily groups in which I pertain to. After many discussions over the past weeks, I have come to realize that race, sexuality, religion, etc., all contribute to your personality traits and allow you to give yourself an identity.

            “Give yourself an identity” is a phrase I have been struggling with most the entire semester. Every time I have been trying to come up with my own “I am _______, but also ________.” phrase, I knew that meant I had to start with who I “am”. This sounds so easy but when actual given the task, I found myself drawing blanks. Who am I? Am I really that, or do I just want to be that? I found myself battling between what identity I want to have, what identity I didn’t want to have, and trying to decide how that meant I really saw myself. Have I been choosing traits or groups to make up my identity because that’s how I want to / don’t want to associate myself? I think a powerful realization I had surrounded the idea that since I have never really associated myself with a group (i.e. Christian, heterosexual, etc.), then why start now?

My entire life growing up I have never been surrounded by religion, have never considered being straight as a defining characteristic in my life, being white as making me who I am, and so on. Even though I agree with my peers that all of the groups are important to my identity, I wouldn’t consider them being a central factor in which to make my statement from. After realizing this, I decided to keep looking for a phrase.

There was one particular comment that really stuck with me even after leaving the classroom discussion. Someone mentioned that we shouldn’t get caught up on thinking other people are putting insignificant things. Even though to us it may seem trivial or not important, to the person who wrote the statement it could mean the world. This was important to me for two reasons. First, this will definitely stick with me as I read all the statements people submit as the project continues. Even if I wasn’t thinking it originally, I am happy to know that if the thought of “Oh, that comment isn’t anything special” comes to my mind I will remember that it might be special to whoever wrote the statement. Secondly, this is helpful because I was so stressed on coming up with something that other people would read and think was significant, I was starting to forget that the statement is about me. By taking the pressure off myself for coming up with a phrase that I feel others will find interesting, hopefully it will allow me to truly find a statement that rings true to how I feel about my identity. I hope all my classmates, peers, and all you reading this an involved in the project come to this realization, because ultimately it encompasses one of the topics in which our project is striving for people to realize; their own identities, not others.

Last year --> This year

At the beginning of this project I had knowledge of last year’s project and the idea that it was created to break stereotypes. But the challenge for our class was to find a way to be similar enough so that those on campus recognized it, but also to make the project our own. By no means was it easy to think of new ideas without resorting back to last year’s project, and at times I felt that my thoughts were limited to a certain boundaries. After a few class discussions I began to think in terms of stereotypes and what I would want out of this project if I had to give a statement similar to I am but not. Thinking not only of what I am not, but the idea came to me to think in terms of what I am also. My original intentions of this idea were to allow those participating to say here is what I am but that's not what defines me. By incorporating “also” where “not” once was, we began to think outside of what meets the eye and connect deeper to accepting that yes while we are blonde, southern, nerdy, preppy, ditzy, northern, black, white, etc… we also possess many other qualities that others may not think of.

At the time, this seemed like a completely different spin to last years project, but my thoughts still kept drifting back to I am but not. This became quite frustrating because this is a new semester, this is our class project, and we wanted to make it ours. Class discussions became more detailed and our plan started to take shape. After this plan was revised over and over, we decided on our visual plan and our strategies to make ourselves known all over campus. After planning the visual details, I became more confident in our project. We finally had something to call our own, and each of us took a responsibility to see that this was an original and well-planned project that others could benefit from. As we began to talk to others and spread the word of our project, it seemed that many were somewhat familiar about last year’s project but did not participate because it was either too late or they weren’t sure how to become involved.

My personal goal this year is to keep our campus up to speed on this project and make sure those who wish to participate have the opportunity. I want to see our campus understand, participate, experience, and benefit from this project. I believe that Clemson is the perfect place to conduct this project, after all this is a school located in a rural area with all types of people who have at least one thing in common….their love for Clemson. 

This project becomes more real to me when I hear of participants I am but also statements, it makes the effort we are putting in worth it and also teaches me to think differently about others and see that no matter what group, background, organization, etc. he or she identifies with we all possess uniqueness. My goal is to help others to have the same experience and see this as well. In doing so, we may start to see others in a different light and have an entirely different perspective of what we once thought. I believe this project will prepare us for what is to come after Clemson and help us to see that we won’t always be surrounded by people like us and in order be open to new experiences we must see past our surface and seek and accept what truly defines a certain person.

Thoughts about Slogan

This project has made me think about myself
as a person, how I can best describe myself, and some of the challenges
that I face. When I first heard the slogan from last year, “I am but not,”
I did not really think deeply into it. I think the first slogan that I
thought of was “I am young but not lazy.” However, this was more aimed at a
stereotype of my generation and not very personal. After discussing the
slogan and the goals of the project with the class, I decided to think
about some of the challenges that I face regarding my ideals and identity.
The first thing that came to mind that I struggle with is my role as a
Christian. I have always tried my best to do what is right as a follower of
Christ. I go to church on Sundays usually and even attend a group meeting
occasionally. However, I still go out on the weekends sometimes to places
like the bars and to parties. I feel as if nothing is wrong with going out
and having fun as long as I don’t let this control my life. However, I have
had people call me a hypocrite sometimes because according to them I cannot
drink any alcohol whatsoever and go to a party if I am a Christian. I
sometimes may drink more than I should or make a few bad choices but I do
not feel that people should judge me for that. I may not be the best
Christian or always do what is right according to the Bible, but at least I
am trying and not using some bad choices as a reason to ignore my religion
altogether. After thinking about all of this, I have decided to write “I am
sometimes hypocritical, but also trying to change” on my shirt this year to
convey my message.

A student perspective...

Through class discussions and project brainstorming, my perceptions on my own identity and the identity of others have changed. At the beginning of this course I thought about identity solely in terms of race, nationality, gender and sexual orientation. I failed to see that identity could also be based on your social interactions, insecurities or successes, and daily struggles or perceptions. Class discussions and my own thoughts about identity and the identity project have made me open my eyes to all of the different perceptions on identity.

I have also become more aware of the stereotypes and difficult topics to talk about in Clemson. There is a divide among Greeks, international students, different races, religions and geographical regions.  Clemson is consistently ranked high in various polls for “happiest students” and “friendliest campus;” however, the aforementioned issues are definitely prevalent and not talked about. This identity project will allow people to express their identity in terms of “I am _____, but also _____” to break stereotypes, have a safe outlet to discuss issues in their lives or at Clemson, and hopefully connect with someone he/she would have never been able to reach otherwise.

Celebrating this aspect of the project and opening my eyes to different views on identity has created an anticipated anxiety about what my own “I am _____, but also _____” statement is going to be. I want my statement to be profound and enlightening, but I also don’t want to be too revealing to strangers. I am also struggling with the fact that I don’t think I am interesting enough to create a profound statement about my identity. I am not struggling with my race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. I don’t feel like I need to prove my identity in these terms. Because of this I have been thinking about some of my personality traits that might be contradictory or competing. I am a very social person, but I enjoy my alone time as well. I am also very driven and motivated, but I enjoy being lazy some days. These competing traits have helped me work through some of my anxiety with this project, but I don’t feel this are interesting enough and really revealing of my identity.

I keep thinking about the difficult topics prevalent at Clemson and how I fit into this, but am having trouble thinking of a way I do. This struggle and subsequent anxiety has aided in guidance for the project because it has forced me to begin to think critically about issues at Clemson and how I want to identify myself within the Clemson community. I think having the poster up on library bridge, along with the note cards, will help students get ideas about their identity and will definitely help me articulate my identity in terms of “I am _____, but also _____.” I want to be able to celebrate my confidence, successes or values in these terms, but also want to spark meaningful dialogue and relate to another member of the Clemson community.

The biggest source of anxiety during this process is not being interesting enough or being too bland or predictable. I think that once I start seeing others’ responses and talking more about what thoughts come to mind when people see the statement, “I am _____, but also _____,” will help me address my feelings about identity. So for now, I will keep reflecting on how my personality fits into the grand scheme of things at Clemson and hopefully will be able to start piecing together how these traits form my identity. I need to just critically think about all of the thing that make me who I am without worrying about if that makes me an insightful innovator or offers a new, groundbreaking way of thinking. 

We will be posting about upcoming events and updates on our project so keep checking back for info.

We are also on facebook https://www.facebook.com/Iambutalso and twitter https://twitter.com/#!/CU_Identity. 

For those of you who would like to participate please leave your comments (which may be done so anonymously) and fill in your I am __ but also___ statement. 

Thank you!

CU Identity Project