All of us, we have these streams inside our selves that criss-cross, collide, and run together (Ling). The point here is that it is narrow minded to assume that we have one single identity; that instead, we should be thinking in terms of identifications – the things we are composed of (Ling). The goal in defining who we are isn’t about claiming to be one thing or another; it is simply to reveal our “organic and authentic selves” (Ling). It is to be the “author of [ones] own life” (Ling). We weave our stories into patterns of meaning; these parts of ourselves blend to gain a better understanding of our profound journeys and how these experiences force us to be present (Kelly).

Where I come from, where my students come from, is important in order to have a comprehensive understanding of our past and to be able to dream the trajectory of our future (Henderson 6). “Everything leaves a track, and in the track is the story: the state of being of each thing in its interaction with everything else… [T]racking is intimately involved in the process of seeking wisdom, vision, and coming to the source of sprit” (Cajete 56).

“I am an interrupter of the social construct, a voice calling others to attend. I am an infuser of passion and a relinquisher of tension and shame. It is inside this discovery that I have come to carry questions in my hands and I am happy to be searching instead of holding the answers… My relentless quest for balance and purpose is what has brought me to this place of uncertainty and curiosity… I feel cracked and lost inside of my neatly compartmentalized selves and [have been] craving wholeness” (Nuño 8). “I acknowledge my imperfections in my unhealthy pursuit for perfection and am learning to relish in my mistakes. Like my students, I am a work in progress, full of wonder, and forever changing” (Henderson 27).