A surprising thing happened this weekend in New York. Despite taking a day off from Broadway shows and shopping downtown, I bought nothing but a single book. Personally, I expected to be confronted with materialistic dilemmas of “OMG this is so cute, but should I buy it? I mean, I don’t have a job yet, but it’s NEW YORK! This would forever have sentimental value… It was Fate that led me to find it here today – IN MY SIZE, no less – How can I leave without bringing it home with me?”

Nothing really impressed me, though. Granted, we went through streetwear stores like Uniqlo and Yellow Rat Bastard as opposed to high-end Fashion Week prêt-a-porter. Still, I wasn’t enthused by the prospect of whipping out my wallet, save for coming across a homerun of a title set in a graffiti typeface.

Below is an excerpt from my latest find, Transculturalism, which I hmmed and hawed over at YRB, and am now happily flipping through as JFK International Airport wakes up.

The basic premise of this book, is that some individuals find ways to transcend their initial culture, in order to explore, examine and infiltrate foreign cultures….

In essence, we are saying that transculturalism defies race, religion, sexuality, class, and every sort of classification known to sociologists and marketers. Transculturalists lead unusual lives, and some people call them heretics. They date and marry outside of their race or religion; they date and marry inside of their gender; they travel on a whim and venture into faraway lands; they dress unconventionally, and customize dress codes regularly; they live in areas their parents were once barred from, and take jobs previously considered outside of their leagues; they listen to, and create and criticize music they are not supposed to listen to; they display high levels of creativity in the arts and other progressive disciplines.

I am a transculturalist….

- Claude Grunitzky, Introduction

On my journeys through Ethnic Studies, Communication, and the thus short-lived foray into student affairs, I’ve done a lot of identity work. A lot of Millennial generation readings (even chipping in for an issue of Inc. that described what employers could expect from Millennial employees). A lot of identity formation models. A lot of personality tests.

Just like when you read your horoscope in a newspaper (If you read a newspaper at all.), bits and pieces of all these categories and characteristics rang true within me. Yet I still felt hokey every time I cited my behavior as something indicative of my Millennial generation. Though I know it’s a test that changes with your individual development, I could also never give full credibility to Myers Briggs surveys.

“Transculturalist,” though – This sounds like something I can wear. Both on the inside and the out. Everyone chooses on their own how they identify: female artist high school dropout – or high school dropout artist female.

My culture has always been closest to my heart, the one part of my identity that has always been consciously on my mind and that I have always questioned. (Not to say in a hostile or confused wa) I have always been fascinated by the formation of culture within individuals, and a natural byproduct of that is constantly seeking out “foreign” cultures and cultural characteristics on a daily basis. Like a foodie to cheese, I like filling my life with learning how storytelling varies across lands and between families, how unsuspecting rap fans collect their music 411, and how small town youth adapt to big city life.

The title Transculturalism struck a perfectly harmonic chord with me as soon as I saw it. I like to think that my obsession with filling my mind with eclectic thoughts is just plain and simple curiosity. I like bouncing between different worlds’ thoughts and being challenged to comprehend new things. The word “transculturalism” seems to lend itself to preserving individual cultures so that they can be appreciated individually more so than “multiculturalism” does – “Multiculturalism” is modern and more widespread, but it is often mistaken for blending and assimilation. I do not support the melting pot model, so describing myself as “multicultural” has never felt completely accurate.

Transcultural sounds more like it implies having access to multiple cultures. The Transcontinental Railroad made North American smaller by connecting multiple cities, ensuring trade first but also promoting cultural exchange second. The same with transcontinental airlines, and at an even grander scale. Whether it’s globalization via the Internet or the people I meet, I just like the thought of listening to music that isn’t broadcast on local radio stations, reading biographies of icons in industries that I will never work with, and sometimes not understanding what words and thoughts are being exchanged around me. Transculturalism sounds like an urban way of life, and not like the “eclectic” interior decorating choices of old white homemakers who like to shop at Cost Plus in their Chico travel skirts.

The book itself is an artsy thing. It’s compiled by the creator of Trace and Dazed & Confused magazines, devotes entire spreads to abstract art, and includes a dissertation by Rosario Dawson. As I considered the book in my hands at YRB, this quote sold me on not waiting to find it at a discount price,

As I progressed in my studies… I stumbled upon an important epiphany: culture has nothing to do with race.

- Akil Dasan, “Race Does Not Exist”

In the spirit of a time where inventing one’s self is left to that person and that person alone, transcultural is the way to go.

Editor’s Note: I was going to make a reference to a “TransAmerica,” but that would mean I haven’t been paying attention to film releases for the last three years.