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I’ve been thinking recently about how identity develops…
Because I have an identity of being an alien from the planet Aekrifoghadjiklavadij
and I just don’t know how that identity happened.
The most obvious part of my identity that you don’t get a grasp of from watching my
videos is that I am shy.
And very shy. I’m the kind of person who, when you introduce yourself:
-Hi, my name is Bobietta Junior.
I just say say:
-Hi.
And then we have that moment of:
-What’s your name?
-Oh, sorry, I’m Théo.
-What’s that? Tyler?
-Théo.
-Tee-oh?
-Théo.
-Tie-oh?
I can tell you all I want that I’m shy
but you can’t really comprehend my shyness if you’re just seeing these videos.
Because you see me saying these scripted, pre-planned words, full of energy,
sometimes talking so fast that you can hardly understand the end is near darkness will fall am saying.
I had a teacher, and I didn’t participate much in her class,
and she once said, “I know it’s not because you’re shy. Because I’ve seen your videos.”
Let’s make this very clear. My videos do not mean I’m not shy. I am not talking to
a person.
Look. There’s nobody there. I am talking to a camera.
And cameras do not judge me. Cameras do not talk to me.
-Yes, I do. Listen to me, Théo.
As an experiment in why I’m different in videos than in person,
I decided to re-film this whole video replacing the camera with my friend Jake.
-Let's make it very clear: Talking to Jake does not mean I'm not shy. I'm not talking
to a person.
Look. There's nobody here.
I'm talking to a Jake. And Jake's don't judge me. Jake's don't talk to me.
-Yes, I do. Listen to me, Théo.
I find it fascinating that this teacher, who knows me in person,
thinks she’s getting a more accurate view of who I am from the internet.
And honestly, I don’t think she’s wrong. Because again, I’m shy. I don’t always
share much in person.
So you can get a better idea of my mind from watching my videos in which I share more.
My point is that I’m different in videos than in person, and neither one is necessarily
more accurate.
We all have different personas in different places, not intentionally,
but because there are different limitations to the way our personalities shine through.
Identities develop around us, and they're largely out of our control.
And those identities can be quite confusing.
Like that I’m an alien from the planet Aekrifoghadjiklavadij. Seriously, I just don’t get it.
A little while back, I came out as a bioethical conundrum.
A biased analysis.
A bipartisan agreement.
A bisexual person. That’s the one.
And there are some who say that people shouldn’t label themselves. Labels are for soup cans.
And first of all, have you ever worn a name tag? Or had a name?
-Hi, my name is Bobietta Junior.
-I’M NOT CALLING YOU THAT. LABELS ARE FOR SOUP CANS.
-Hi, my name is Bobietta Junior.
-Oh, I’m so sorry. I totally respect that. Hi, Bobietta.
And second of all, I get it.
I get the idea of not being boxed in by a label, and I think it’s totally valid to
choose that for yourself.
But not to choose that for other people.
To me, the world bisexual is honestly pretty meaningless.
There are many other words I’m just as comfortable with.
I’m most comfortable with ***, and I’m totally fine with being called pansexual,
omnisexual, gay,
pretty much anything other than an alien from the planet Aekrifoghadjiklavadij.
-Can you say the planet name? -Um... Knickerbocker, paddy whack-
But for some people, using a label is helpful.
It helps them feel like they make sense. If there’s a word for it, it must be valid.
*laughter* -Did you just type random-
-I did. I just keysmashed.
To a large extent, we don’t have control over our identities, and that can be scary,
so when people claim control over their identity, it’s important that we let them.
Let me down in the comments what aspects of your identity you claim control over.
I make videos every Wednesday! Thanks for watching.
-I'm the kind of person who when you introduce yourself.
-Hi. My name is Bobeeta Shuniar. -Bobietta Junior.
-Labels are for soup cans. -Um.
Hi. My name is Bobietta Junior. -Oh, I'm so sorry. I totally respect that.
Hi Bobietta.
-Ek-row-fog-had-ji-klav-ad-ij Eeyek-rik-had-fog-gee-klav-id-ij
Yek-rif-had-ji-klav-id-ich -Yeah. Aekrifoghadjiklavadij
See you next time.
It's the end screen
-Oh. That was anticlimactic.
I thought it was gonna be like-
-Yeah, don't break the camera.