I found the "Powerful Spaces" article and how it relates identity to the space in which it is expressed very interesting. In the article, Professor Moje describes how several of the Latino/a youth identify themselves depending on the space (geographic, cultural, social, etc) that they are in.
I remember realizing at an early age that my own identity varied depending on the social context and space that I occupied. For my 5th grade birthday party, I invited friends from school, my neighborhood, and from church. I realized that my relationships with my friends in each of those groups were different, and that my identity within the group depended on the space in which the groups of friends were formed.
I think people have multiple layers to their identities (like Shrek- an onion lol) and that having slightly different personalities depending on the social context is actually a good thing- it helps people adapt to different situations and be successful in each.
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I agree that to a certain extent adapting to a space can be beneficial; however, I also think that it's important not to sacrifice one's identity in order to "fit in." It appears that many times this is the situation for immigrants in the US. As they enter a new space, they adapt who and what they identify with, sometimes sacrificing their own culture.
I too understand the awkwardness sometimes associated with having friends from different social spaces meet. However, I feel like this is because they don't know each other rather than because of the difference in their social spaces. I do agree that people have many different identities and that with different groups of people different aspects of that identity are highlighted. Though I feel like an identity is something you cannot change and if you are being fake with a certain group of people the farce can only go on for so long before you stumble and get caught or stop putting on an act.
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