It is admirable to believe that each of us determines the person we become, regardless of stereotypes involving race, gender, religion, or any other label society places on us. At the same time, the power of such labels cannot be completely disregarded. The way we view others based on stereotypes is often so common, that many of us forget that we are influenced by them.

But how often do you think to yourself, “What does my name say about me?” Last Wednesday, the Waterloo Public Interest Research Group (WPIRG), screened The Grace Lee Project, a documentary about this very issue as part of International Education Week.

The filmmaker and narrator, Grace Lee, grew up in Columbia, Missouri, believing she was quite unique. Her parents immigrated from Korea to the Midwest, which isn't exactly known for its Asian population. She was not only aware of this difference, but proud of it.

Then she left the Midwest. All of sudden she was constantly meeting people who knew another Grace Lee. This was no longer just a name. It was an all-encompassing image of a smart, introverted, nice, religious, and “quietly intense” Asian girl.

Just how popular was this name? Well, I decided to do my own research and typed the name Grace Lee into a Facebook search. The result: about 4,600 matches. For three of these matches I had a mutual friend. Is this like the six degrees of Grace Lee? Does everyone at least know someone, who knows someone, who knows a Grace Lee? Although the commonality of the name is of some interest, the focus for the creator of the documentary, Grace Lee, is whether this sweeping description of her name is accurate. “Does any other name scream generic Asian girl?” she asks.

The director introduces the “Statistically Average Grace Lee,” from a compilation of all the information she receives about various Grace Lees. There are over 2,000 in the United States alone. This average Grace Lee is Korean-American, lives in California, is 25 years old, heterosexual, single, five foot three, has at least a masters degree, and averages three and a half years of piano lessons. Once again, generic Asian girl?

The filmmaker does not see herself in this image and the documentary is Grace Lee's quest to find out if there are any other Grace Lees who “break the mold.” She certainly finds some who fit into this category, but there are also those she finds along the way who seem to be rebels at first glance, yet bring us back to this generic definition.

“The Grace Lee I knew tried to burn down my high school.” Those are the words of a classmate of another Grace Lee. As it turns out, this gesture was done in order to get rid of records that showed some poor academic performance. She did not want her parents to see this. Instead of finding the quintessential rebel, this Grace seemed to reinforce the average image of the name Grace Lee.

Other students in the documentary commented on the pressures placed on Asian-Americans by their parents in the San Francisco area, where this incident took place. This is a problem common to many children of immigrant parents. I myself am one of these second-generation immigrants, although I am fortunate enough to have parents who respect whichever avenue I choose to take in life and I never felt this level of pressure.

My parents immigrated from India when they were in their twenties and I can understand the sense of unspoken pressure the children of immigrants feel because the reason their parents moved in the first place was for better opportunities for their children. I may have been born here in Canada, but the stories revealed in this film are not only relatable by international students, but our student body as a whole. Every student feels pressure in different forms from different people and most of us are still trying to find out who we are and the kind of people we want to become. Which takes us back to topic in question for this documentary, what's in a name?

The director Grace Lee does in fact find that rebel she's been looking for: 90-year-old (now 94) Grace Lee Boggs, a Chinese-American anti-racist activist living in Detroit.

Dubbed “Grace X” by her fellow Detroit residents, she is a revolutionary figure who has made immense contributions to the civil rights movement, having had dealings with Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and other prominent civil rights figures. At 90, she continues to work hard by mentoring young people in the Detroit community. After viewing the film Evan Coole, a coordinator for WPIRG who set up the screening on campus, said that he would personally love to meet this woman. She is certainly one individual who really jumps out of the screen and grabs your attention. Even when speaking about when she asked her future husband to dance and was rejected (it was common among gatherings for radical organizations for women to ask men to dance), I can't help but think to myself, here is a woman who truly epitomizes what it means to be your own person.

Indeed, when asked what she thought her name said about her, Grace Lee Boggs replied that it's what you do in life that determines who you are, not your name.

The film maker meets the rebel she was hoping for along with many other Grace Lees who have a lot in common with that statistical average, but even among these women she finds similarities with herself. “What's surprising is how much we have in common…what makes us similar,” she stated towards the end. Suddenly the fear of being mistaken for another Grace Lee disappears, and she is now only curious to find out more about any other Grace Lees out there.

In the end, this is the lesson the audience takes away from the film. The University of Waterloo has over 2,000 international students studying here each year from more than 90 countries, according to the International Student Office website. One of the greatest aspects of university is the diversity of people you meet and this documentary stresses the importance of taking advantage of such an opportunity. Talk to that international student in your Monday morning class, you may even meet another Grace Lee.