Ijeawele's Stream of Consciousness

Last class, we discussed the idea of humans as “time beings” or temporal beings who are constantly changing from each experience. The phrase “time beings” comes from a thirteenth century Zen Master named Eihei Dogen who noted the impermanence of human life. Dogen points out that time is never static and neither are human beings; instead our identity is constantly shaped and manipulated by our experiences. As a result, we are always connected to the multitude of moments in our past.

To best understand this effect, I thought about the ways in which the fluidity of time has affected my stream of consciousness. I realized that even a short examination of my Monday morning can reveal how connected my mental processes are to moments of my past. When I took control of my Company this morning in ROTC, I did it with a mindset that I am equal to my male counter-parts. In fact, I did not even consciously think about equality because it is an automatic assumption that has been engrained in my mind from my past experiences. I grew up in a neighborhood where I constantly played sports with my male peers and even physically fought with them when we had disagreements. I have never faced restraint from my parents or my teachers when I wanted to compete against the guys or even wear their clothes. As result, my past echoes through my mentality during my Monday morning training when I work side by side with my male peers.

About an hour after my ROTC training, I went to my dorm to shower and coat my eye lashes with mascara because I remember my friend’s comment that I looked “tired” without it. When I get dressed I quickly think about the attire of the other girls on Loyola’s campus and adjust my outfit choice accordingly. Just two hours of my morning reveal the constant fluctuation of identity, growing and changing as my stream of consciousness constantly recalls moments of my past.

In Dear Ijeawele, Adiche shows us just how deeply embedded our past is in our mental processes. She writes a guide of feminist suggestions to her sister on how to raise her daughter a feminist. In this guide, Adiche pays attention to an immense amount of detail because she is aware of the role a child’s experiences have in shaping their identity. Adiche examines everything down to word choice, cautioning Ijeawele’s mother against calling her daughter “princess” because it “is loaded with assumptions, of a girl’s delicacy, of the prince who will come to save her, etc.” (Adichie 26). Adiche makes note of such specifics because she recognizes the degree in which simple word choice will affect Ijeawele’s stream of consciousness. Even the words that Ijeawele’s mother uses have the power to shape and mold Ijeawele’s perception of herself and her environment.

Adichie also notes that there is no guarantee that Ijeawele will be a future feminist. She cautions, “remember that you might do all the things I suggest, and she will still turn out to be different than you hoped, because sometimes life just does its thing. What matters is that you try” (7). Adiche acknowledges the multitude of moments in Ijeawele’s future that will shape and reshape her identity. Her admission that “sometimes life just does its thing” shows that she is fully aware that Ijeawele’s experiences will constantly fluctuate through her mental processes as she goes about her daily activities. Of course, her mother’s guidance will shine through at moments, but it will be accompanied by a fluid stream of other experiences she will have. Ijeawele future identity will always be connected to her mother’s actions, but it will also be connected to many other moments to come.