What is Identity?

A Two-Year Journey & Transformation

What is identity? Is it just how we look, where we live, or the roles we play? Over two years, I recorded my transformation—from clean-shaven to a long beard, from short hair to flowing locks—exploring the complex, ever-changing concept of identity. This video isn’t just a visual journey; it’s a reflection on how identity is shaped by appearance, actions, relationships, and the courage to let go of who we think we are. Through my changing appearance, I ask:

• Is identity more than how we identify—our masculinity or femininity?
• Is it more than our jobs, our families, or the stories we tell ourselves?
• Is it something we can define, or is it constantly evolving?

Identity is elusive, complex, and deeply personal. It’s all of these things and none of them. So, I leave you with one question: Who are you?

💡 Join the Conversation

Explore the themes of identity and transformation through this visual experiment. Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and don’t forget to like and subscribe for more thought-provoking content.

📚 Dive Deeper Into Identity

Discover how identity plays a role in my stories:

• Outside In: A man becomes his opposite to understand who he truly is.
• The Investment Club: Broken strangers find their truest selves in one another.
• Focus Lost: A journey to the edge of passion and obsession.

👉 Let’s reflect, question, and discover together.

What is identity?

Is it more than how we identify?
Our masculinity?
Our femininity?

Is it more than how we look?
Our hair?
Our clothes?

Is it more than what we do?
Our jobs?
Our hobbies?

Is it more than where we go?
Our vacations?
Our entertainment?

Is it more than what we eat?
Our diets?
Our indulgences?

Is it more than who we spend time with?
Our colleagues?
Our friends?

Is it more than what we own?
Our phones?
Our cars?

Is it more than who are families are?
Our parents?
Our children?

Is it more than where we live?
Our homes?
Our communities?

Is it more than who we pretend to be?
Our masks?
Our stories?

Is it more than saying, “I am me.
The time is now. Let’s begin.”?

Identity can’t be found
Or fabricated.

Identity emerges
with the courage to let go.

Identity is elusive.

Identity is complex.

Identity is always changing.

Identity is all of this.

Identity is none of this.

So I ask you,
who
are
you?

What is Identity? A Journey of Self-Discovery

Identity Is More Than Just a Reflection

Identity. It’s something we think we understand—our name, our past, the face staring back at us in the mirror. But what if that isn’t the whole story? What if who we are is more fluid than we realize?

Over two years ago, I began a personal experiment to explore this very question. How much of our identity—both how we see ourselves and how others perceive us—is shaped by our appearance?

A Two-Year Journey of Transformation

During this period, I documented my physical changes while reciting a monologue I’d written, titled What is Identity?. I kept the background and shirt the same to ensure that the only variable in this project was my outward appearance.

You’ll see every step of this journey: from the beginning to the end, with all the changes and “in-between” moments that reveal how much—or how little—changed beneath the surface.

This visual record captures more than just physical shifts; it raises deeper questions about how much of our identity is internal versus external.

The Question at the Heart of It All

As I reflected on this process, one question stayed with me: How much did I really change? How much of my true self shifted beneath these outward changes?

This video series is an invitation to question the nature of identity. How much of our sense of self is defined by how others perceive us versus what we know inside?

Identity in Life and Fiction

This exploration has always been at the heart of my writing. Identity isn’t just a personal question—it’s a recurring theme in the stories I tell:

• In Outside In, a man becomes his opposite to understand who he truly is.
• In The Investment Club, broken strangers discover that our greatest investment is often in one another.
• In Focus Lost, characters confront the fine line between passion and obsession.
• And in my children’s book, The Snail and The Butterfly, a young snail’s dream of flying meets an old butterfly’s reflections on purpose.

Through each of these stories, I’ve delved into the layers of identity, exploring how it shapes and connects us.

An Invitation to Reflect

This project, and the stories I’ve written, are an invitation to you. Who are we, really? How much of our identity is defined by what others see versus what we know to be true inside?

I hope you’ll join me in this exploration of self—not just through this video but also through the pages of my books. Because maybe, just maybe, the real journey of identity is one we’re all on together.

Feel free to share your reflections in the comments or connect with me on social media. Let’s explore this question of identity, together.