In reference to his racial identity, Tizon comments, "I [am] both Asian and Asian American" (180), which shows a change in his process of thought. In his youth he believed he could only be one or the other; however, in adulthood, he realizes that he does not have to give up one to become the other. In response to his other newfound identities, Tizon quotes the poet Walt Whitman, who writes, “I am large, I contain multitudes” (194). Whitman implies that human beings cannot be classified into just one group. To this statement, Tizon responds: “Recognizing that I contained multitudes meant that I did not have to unload the weight of my worth on any of my identities” (194). The use of the word “recognize” (194) implies that he is not entirely satisfied with his place in the world, but recognizes that he will always have multiple identities to reassure himself. Growing up, young Tizon, in his desire to fit into the "all-American" image (3), saw himself exclusively through an American lens, or the "prism of race" (48). However, as soon as he realized that he could be more than his race and that he could connect with people through his writing, the “burden” (194) he had placed on himself was removed. Tizon now recognizes that people can have more than one identity and still feel like they belong to one