Driving home yesterday I was reflecting on my identity.
Having grown up in a Greek family, having received a Greek and French education
and having spent most of my childhood holidays with Flemish friends, I found my freedom, true
identity and the culture that defined me the most in my hometown of two
years: Barcelona.
Every culture, every education, every person, teacher, or
environment can influence us only to the point we allow it to do so. It’s not
so much a case of how long we will be exposed to it, him or her. The influence and
its impact depend only on our willingness, openness and how it, he or she can
resonate with what we already have inside us and waits to be revealed or find
the voice of expression.
For me it was Barcelona and although the influences are
countless and on too many different levels and fields – arts, business, education,
structures, architecture, planning etc – I distinguish the one that came to my
mind driving: Solidaritat *
Solidaritat, in a very conscious, organized, humanistic form.
What about you? What did you or will you allow to shape and
define your identity?
*Solidarity in catalan
Love this blog entry of yours, Katerina. The more conscious we become, the more we use our self-reflective critical thinking skills, the less we can be subject to some of these shaping influences, and the more truly empowered we can become.
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