There are always those universal questions: Who are we? Why are we here? Where are we going? The list goes on and on, but I really feel that in 21st century America, we’re seeing a rise in relevance of personal identity and the subsequent decline of cultural identity. 

Establishing a strong personal identity means confidence. It’s power. It’s intimidation. It’s what some seek, needing to create this identity to figure out how to keep one’s feet on the ground, and it’s what some need to lose in order to become a better person.

This identity is the product of every single experience in our lives and how any given individual interprets the experience, kind of the whole cause and effect routine. For example, I’ve encountered several people with a severely traumatic past. About half of

them have used the trauma to become amazing people. The other half … well, they’re quite the opposite. You know people like this, too. You might be one of them. 

Either way, it’s up to the individual to choose who he or she wants to become. But this still leaves out the deterioration of modern cultural identity. A majority of

us are descendants of immigrants (thanks a lot Manifest Destiny) and we’ve become pretty detached from the first generation. In that, instead of being submerged

in our cultural origin, we’re submerged in contemporary American culture. It isn’t really a bad thing per  se; it’s just how we’ve developed over time.

So back to this personal identity business. As previously implied, forming one isn’t exactly easy. A lot of people lack either the ability or the desire to take a shot at being an individual. Others try way, way too hard. This is all incredibly obvious when every miniscule mannerism, twitch and tweak is placed under meticulous scrutiny, but it’s the most obvious when you look into someone’s eyes. It’s where you find the truth, or lack thereof. 

For those who don’t feel compelled to seek individualism, finding a common interest group is perfect, whether it’s a football team, drinking buddies, student government or a newspaper. Within each establishment will be individuals, but if the group mentality is to work toward a common goal, establishing a personal identity is not that necessary. 

In fact, it isn’t necessary to live a happy life. It will, however, drastically increase the quality of life. Everything has an infinitely deeper meaning, and the beautiful things are appreciated with every aspect of your existence. But wait, there’s a downside. 

The downside is isolation – feeling trapped in your own head. Honest communication suffers, because knowing how incredibly predictable people are will be unfortunately influential over the way you treat them. The upside to the downside is that you’ll be able to recognize people with a solid identity and probably form an alliance, bound by unconditional trust and respect. Or you’ll hate their guts.