Ryung (미 령) Lee

Educator, mother, Korean-Canadian, spiritual, woman. Upon reading Beverley Tatum’s article, “The Complexity of Identity,” I often think about the qualities that comprise my identity. What is salient to me? What is salient to others?  One would hope to have a strong sense of self by your forties. But with each step I take towards self-realization, I see my identity is in perpetual motion, constantly evolving.  What is defined by society is not what I use to define myself and it is an endless spiral that is constantly being renegotiated with time and place.

But for simplicity’s sake, the above 5 qualifiers are pretty salient to who I am. And in this moment in time, I am

An educator: I am committed to seeing and igniting the passion that lies within each uniquely individual student. But every student is intricately multi-faceted; how do educators honour the multiplicity of identities that lie within? How do we promote prismic dispersion in education? A means in which we can reveal the beauty of individual ray of light, beyond the broader beam?

A mother: I aim to protect, nurture, guide my children, my biological child and my students, who are an extension of my family.

Korean-Canadian: I navigate a hyphenated identity, proud of my Korean roots, and avidly asserting my “Canadian” ness within the land that I occupy.  But what does it mean to be Canadian on Turtle Island?

A spiritual person, I sense and connect with a Higher Power. I remind myself that life is sacred, and that each person is a reflection and an interconnected piece of an awe-inspiring whole.

A woman, I fluctuate between a struggle to be seen, and the power that is bestowed upon me by nature.  I am becoming.