Creating myself

The psychologist James Marcia argues that there are four levels of identity creation. The healthiest people have arrived at what he calls “identity achievement.” They’ve explored different identities, told different stories about themselves, and finally settled on a heroic identity that works.

We can all use Google Earth to virtually travel anywhere in the world—but when we want to see the Colosseum, we still get on plane. We still scream “REPRESENTATIVE” on the phone with Walgreens to be connected to an actual person. We abandoned the Zoom birthday party as soon as we were safely able. Humanity wins every time.