Identify with
Today’s expression is “identify with.” If you identify with someone or something, you see a little of your own experience in that other person or thing. You feel a connection based on a shared experience or shared values. At the end of each chapter of the Webtoon , Maya’s World, there is an area for reader comments just like the comments section below a social media post or a blog post. As I scanned the comments, I noticed that many of the commenters wrote about parts of the story that they identified with, parts of the story that they felt a connection with.
Some of the supporting characters in Maya’s World were wearing hijabs, the traditional head covering worn by many Muslim women. In the comments, a lot of people said they were happy to see characters in a Webtoon wearing a hijab. The commenters might wear hijabs themselves, or they might know people in their family or circle of friends who wear them. Either way, they could identify with Maya’s World and with some of the characters because they saw some of their own life experience portrayed in the drawings. They felt a connection; they identified with those characters.
At one point in Maya’s World, Maya tries to change her class schedule. But a screenshot appears saying the change period has already expired. In the comments, someone wrote that “The change period has already expired” is every student’s nightmare. That commenter clearly identified with the situation; the commenter obviously had that same experience at least once.
In the Olympics this year, the American gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from some of her scheduled competitions, citing the stress and pressure she was under. Many people watching the Olympics could identify with that. I certainly could. Now of course I’ve never been in her situation; she’s one of the world’s best gymnasts. But I and many others could still identify with the feelings that she was describing.
She had spoken about all the pressure she was feeling, about the expectations, about her loss of confidence, and the need to focus on her own mental health before going out and competing again. A lot of people identified with that because a lot of people experience pressure, the fear of not living up to expectations, and the sensation of not being able to do something hard. We might not have anywhere near the same level of pressure that Simone Biles has, but we can still identify with her feelings. We can still recognize some of our own experiences in what she said.
I read a funny article a while back called “Meet the introverts who are dreading a return to normal.” That was back before the Delta variant , back when we thought “a return to normal” would come in the spring. Anyway, the article talked about how the world’s introverts found a silver lining in the pandemic. One writer said—by the way, aren’t so many writers introverts? One writer said, “It’s like being paroled for a year and then being told, ‘Actually, you’re going back to prison.’” I just laughed at that because I can identify with that sentiment. I’m an introvert myself and I have to say I love working in the peace and quiet of my own home. I could definitely identify with the people interviewed in that article.
JR’s song of the week
Time for JR’s song of the week. Today he has selected “Good Life” by One Republic. This is an upbeat and happy song. It’s definitely not written by an introvert; I’ll tell you that. The line is, “This has got to be the good life,” as the singer describes a lot of exciting experiences and travels. He ends by saying, “What’s there to complain about?”
“Good Life” by One Republic is the song of the week, thanks to JR.
See you next time!
There was one tweet that was in that article about introverts. The writer was dreading a return to normal. He said, all during the pandemic the introverts kept telling people, “Hey, we’ll hang out when this is over,” but pretty soon that will be exposed as a lie. Oh yes, I can identify with that.
I’ll tell you, I may be an introvert, but I love our Plain English Plus+ live conversation calls. That’s when a bunch of us get on a Zoom call and just practice talking and conversation, usually about a recent lesson topic. And in a call here in the near future, we’ll take a look at some Webtoons together. It’s up to you which ones, maybe we’ll see the strong florist. Or, maybe we’ll see that girl who has to pay attention to makeup for the first time. We could also check in with Maya and see if she re-connected with her gentleman caller from her previous school.
If you’re not yet a member of Plain English Plus+, there’s still time—maybe not to talk about Webtoons, but we do live conversation calls a few times a month, so there’s always one on the calendar coming up. Join us by visiting PlainEnglish.com/Plus and, once you’re in, check your brand-new Plus+ dashboard for upcoming dates and times.
That’s all for today, August 26, 2021. We’ll be back on Monday with a new lesson. See you then.
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