The experience of migration can create anxiety as well as hope.
hope because when people immigrate to a new place, they do so with the.
expectation that it will be better than the place they came from (otherwise, they.
would not have thought of migrating in the first place). Immigrants come to a.
new country in hopes of a better life, whatever that may entail. However, with.
hope, and expectations of any kind, inevitably, comes anxiety. Anxiety is an.
uneasiness about the future and the uncertainties of it (Morris 59). When.
people migrate to a new land, they hope that it will hold a better life for them.
and/ or their offspring; but, they also worry that this hope will not be.
realized. Immigrants may worry about fitting in, being accepted, being true to.
their beliefs, being able to communicate, being successful and not getting lost.
Another anxiety may come when they encounter a society with different views,.
beliefs and norms. These anxieties lead immigrants to question their.
identity in order to figure out how they will fit into their new society.
Identification is a very complex, socially- constructed process in which people identify.
themselves and/ or are defined by others because of their language, religion,.
geography, history, ancestry or physical traits (Kottak 84). Many factors.
play into identity, including the context and view of others (Deaux 1). In the.
case of migration, it is usually the views of others that spurs questioning of.
one's identity. As Kay Deaux points out, the questions usually asked are:.
"What do I call myself? What does it mean to be that kind of person? And how.
is that ethnicity valued, by me and by others?". The answers to these.
questions depend on many factors, including traditions from one's culture of origin,.
social practices of those people who surround the person and the social beliefs.
of the new culture. Time and place invariably affect these (2).
The complexity of identity is the reason why people spend so much time.
