A professor and narrative inquirer writing in The Conversation argues that the stories people tell about themselves — and the stories told about them by family, culture, and institutions — are central to the formation of identity and personal meaning. Drawing on her own experience moving from Nigeria's Yoruba cultural tradition to pursue graduate education in Canada, she describes how names, ancestral heritage, and relationships act as "narrative anchors" that ground a sense of self, even as institutional systems can simultaneously empower and exclude. The research carries particular relevance for international students, who must navigate competing cultural, academic, and social narratives while resisting what the author calls "deficit narratives" imposed by unfamiliar systems — a challenge she says universities must address by moving beyond symbolic inclusion commitments toward practices that genuinely affirm diverse identities.