Edward Cho ’16 described the balancing act that one must have in deciding to accept identities outsiders assign to oneself.

At certain times, Cho said it might be beneficial not to initially reveal one’s true identity to a group and refrain from objecting to being passed off as such.

“It’s kind of like a subconscious thing depending on the environment I’m in,” Cho said, adding that sometimes passing happens naturally.

In characterizing some of the opinions offered during the conversation, Chen said that the group did not consider passing to always be a bad thing. In fact, she said that group members felt passing is sometimes beneficial.

“[While passing,] certain aspects of myself usually come out that I feel would best mesh with the people present,” Cho said.

At the same time, however, participants in the discussions, including Cho, expressed the danger in compromising one’s identity for the sake of fitting in.

Those who joined in conversation spoke additionally about the fluid nature of the identity a student has at Harvard. They jointly talked about the discomfort sometimes associated with the overlapping of identities from different facets of undergraduate life.

Chen emphasized the importance of sparking further discussion about the facets and difficulties associated with co-existing both at Harvard and at home.

Chen said that the Co-Existing Self series hopes to organize further conversations later this year.