24 hours in 1 day
Yesterday, I talked a little about the reality that we all have 24 hours in a day. Of all the times that I heard someone say it, the first time I remember was during the opening speech of Jörgen Raymann at the launch of the Future Leaders and Entrepreneurs Program (FLaE) in 2015.
Me together with Dirk Currie (l) and Jörgen Raymann (r) at the launch event of FLaE.
One of Raymann's (if not, his most well known) personas is 'Tante Es' (Aunt Es, aka Esseline van Doornegat, which I will not translate into Surinamese). The persona is often considered his breakout character and has played a major part in his TV career. It often allowed him to ask questions and discus certain societal topics and issues, without having to worry about the political backlash it could have if it would have been said/asked by him as a person.
Who is your father, who is your mother?
'Tante Es' is many ways symbolizes parts of Surinamese culture, one of which is the opening catchphrase 'Who is your father, who is your mother?' (Wie is je vader, wie je moeder). Suriname is often considered a village, where everyone knows one another. So, if you meet someone and you know who their parents are, it gives the feeling of familiarity.
The interesting thing however, is this isn't necessarily something Surinamese. Knowing one's parents used to be the main principle of identity. It was John, the son of the locksmith, or Jane, the daughter of the farmer. For years, probably even decades or centuries, identifying someone through their parents, and of course, later in life, identifying someone by a skill or occupation, was the norm.
Me with my dad, a doctor (specialized in Occupational Health) turned entrepreneur, and his father, a ship pilot.
Modern Identity
With the age of industrialization (and even more so in the age of commerce) this began to change. One's identity became less about where you came from and who you are, and more about what you represent. For many, people no longer identify you solely with your occupation, but also what you buy with the money you earn from it.
When I studied in Europe, several Dutch students tried to convince me that you weren't cool unless you wore a pair of Converse shoes. A couple of years later, the Surinamese had a similar effect with Birkenstocks. Just a couple of examples out of many commercial trends that developed which happened to shape people's identity at that period in time.
The switch however goes even further. It is no longer about who you are, what your occupation is and what your skillset is, not only what you consume and buy, but also how you represent yourself, what you represent and how you portray yourself. Identity has gone even further. And the age of the internet has even accelerated it. If you don't believe me, consider that all 30.000 Adidas Into The Metaverse NFTs were minted within hours after the launch and practically no-one knows who Gmoney (the crypto influencer they partnered with) actually is.
In today's age, we get to decide our own identity. Wether it is having our NFT as our profile photo, being proud of a project we founded or something we are part of. It has never been easier to identify with something. We however still have to use it properly, be honest and transparant. And not to pretend to be someone or something we are not. But again, let's focus on the positive side. You can shape your own identity, how cool is that?
See you tomorrow.
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