Walter Kirn Quotes

Our deep desires define us, really.

I try not to define myself. Other people are going to do that for you anyway.

It's one of the hardest things in life - choosing your own name.

I am whatever you say I am; if I wasn't, then why would you say I am.

I don't think a name defines the core of who you are.

Identities reside in relations with others: you-me and us-them, and identities center on boundaries separating us from them.

Some people want to define themselves, and they should, as it's part of their identity. For me personally, I've never really had a label for myself.

I know what my identity is.

As we grow up, we're constantly defining ourselves. In my case: Caucasian, male, born in Iowa, live in Boston, Zen Buddhist, good at learning languages. With countless labels, I build up this creation I call my self.

At the end of the day, you can't reinvent yourself past a point, because you are you, and there are things that are inherently you that are always going to be there.

I'm interested in how we understand ourselves in our relatioships and how we define ourselves.

the identity of an individual is essentially a function of her choices, rather than the discovery of an immutable attribute

The search for a personal identity is the life task of a teenager.

Every decision you make - every decision that you make every second - is not a decision about what to do, it is a decision about who you are. Every act is an act of self-definition.

Meg, when people don't know who they are, they are open either to being Xed, or Named

Identity is something that you are constantly earning.

I am who I am, born that way, and will die that way.

I believe what I believe is what makes me what I am

A man's name is not like a mantle which merely hangs about him...but a perfectly fitting garment, which, like the skin, has grown over him, at which one cannot rake and scrape without injuring the man himself.

We rigidify our self-image to portray a certain identity to the world, which is one of the key impediments to authenticity.

That's an interesting way to put it: an expectation of who you should be. More often than not, it's described as an expectation of who you are.

I think people who struggle to define themselves might never be satisfied because there is no definition. Living with responsibility is important, but I don't really think you have to grow up.

You can survive without a label... matter a fact, you're better off without one!

She knows who she is, because she knows who she isn't.

I don't think sexuality defines a person. It's one small part of who you are, in my view. You are many things, and I never felt that people were defined by their sexuality solely.