# The Work of Identity By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2023-05-31 It is challenging to determine who one _is_. Identity is complex. Children sometimes look around the playground and wish they were somebody else. Obviously, people don’t simply become another person. But the work of identity can be informed by such wishes. It is possible to observe another, witness something admirable, and conclude that one wants to incorporate elements of that into oneself. This is part of how humans progress. The crux of the issue is whether the view of identity is that identity is something to be discovered or created. Is a person who they _are_, or who they _become_? This is tricky as it is, to a degree, a function of both. One can observe, reflect, and grow. This provides some evidence that identity is an act of becoming. In the process, values matter as they inform who one is attempting to become. This is why humans should not simply accept societal values. One should reflect on them, understand if one accepts or rejects them, and why one made the given determination. Values are given. They don’t have to be accepted. If one is concerned with identity, one should start with an interrogation of values. #### Related Items [[Identity]] [[Searching]] [[Progress]] [[Reflection]] [[Value]]