Exploring Identity, Belonging, and Resilience with the UC San Diego Common Read

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At UC San Diego, diverse identities shape our campus and enrich our community—a shared experience that inspired the university’s first Common Read choice. An American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures.

Edited by actress and activist America Ferrera. American like me is a collection of essays that chronicles the experiences of people confronted with multiple cultural identities and intersecting experiences. Regular reading The program aims to foster a sense of shared belonging and connection by providing the book free of charge to the entire campus community.

To continue the discussion sparked by Common Read, UC San Diego invited author, university professor, and cultural critic Roxane Gay to the Epstein Family Amphitheater on November 4, 2024, for an engaging conversation about identity, belonging, and resilience. The discussion was moderated by Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Becky R. Pettitte, a national expert on EDI. Drawing on her own experiences as the daughter of an activist and educator, Pettitte led an exchange with Gay about her experiences as a writer living with intersectional identities and finding hope.

Highlights from Guy’s conversation:

About personality…

“We live in a world that flattens identity. I encourage you to always resist this flatness, to embrace the many dimensions of yourself. Accepting this is an action you must take every single day. People often want things to be simple and black and white, but we don’t live in that world. I try to always be aware that I contain many people within me, just like everyone I meet. I give them the same mercy, and I hope they will give me the same mercy.”

Advice for writers…

“Find the time and desire to just write. The only way to write something is to write it. There is no magic in this. I try to publish books that I want to see in the world, and I hope that the right people see what I’ve written. You also have to write readable prose to reach readers, but we tend to overlook this. But you can write about important topics and still write beautifully.”

Having received feedback…

“Any time you put something out into the world, you have no control over how it will be received. Be comfortable not knowing how people will feel about your work. Not all reviews are helpful. If it’s not helpful, I’ll say, “That’s for other people reading my work, not for me.” I try to learn from feedback and tolerate discomfort as much as I can.”