One’s own identity is derived not by circumstances, but rather by his or her experiences, moral values, as well as motivation. Especially in today’s media, people love to read or watch about impossible stories of rags-to-riches, and they try to incorporate those stories’ motivational plots into their quest to become successful. I concur with Thomas Merton in that I believe “identity is much more than the name or features one is born with. True identity is something people must create for themselves.” One’s origin does not fully account for one’s identity, but it is shaped rather by actions and perception of self. Ideals from “People Inside Me”, “Cut”, and “Commencement Speech at Mount Holyoke College” all influence my point of view regarding…
My way of defining culture is something that makes up your background or something that shapes you. The times of my life have been good and sometimes bad, so that’s how my cultural identity is made up. I have multiple things that makes up my cultural identity, but here’s a few I’ll tell you about. My cultural identity mainly revolves around Food,Clothing & Music.…
I am prideful that i am unique in my color (skin tone),physical attributes (the prevalence of butt implants/lifts), the accomplishments of my cultural (invention of peanut butter, curling iron, street lights, constructing the white house, president), building America (working the fields, contributing to the economic growth of America), traditions (wedding ceremonies of the jumping the broom), food (soul food, creole, music (Jazz, Hip Hop, Rhythm and Blues), and literature (Langston Hughes, Ricard Wright, Zora Neale Hurston and Maya Angelou); i am also prideful of the fact that the human race originated in Africa. The thing that I am shameful about as an african american in the year 2015 is that racism is still strong due to ignorance and the loss of the astonishing amount of african american males that are being taken due to violence, discrimination, substance abuse, poverty, and mental illnesses. I believe that the prideful and shameful aspects of the African american has impacted me as a person. I have realized that I have a strong sense of my self worth and ability. I am more hyper vigilant when it comes to situations of racial discrimination and prejudice. As I get older, and as a 30 year old, African american female with no children, I feel that my cultural identity has shifted. When I was in my teen years, I aspired to follow the norm and strived to be accepted by my…
Being perceived as different may make it difficult to belong. Not being able to belong is a confusing and unfortunate case, where one can find themselves lost and frustrated, as they do not have a safe zone. Through the use of text and film, it can be explored that this concept if difference hinders one from feeling a sense of belonging. Whether it be a persons inability to adapt or their lack of confidence.…
I identify as a white, middle class, male-gendered ripple on this quasi-spatial persistent illusion we call life. As a member of the dominant group (at least in these categories) it is difficult to tease out the precise moments of acute realization that I “belonged” to any of these groups. Rather, it seems like I exist in the way things have always been: in the way my life was always meant to be. Nonetheless, the following is my attempt to unearth the scaffoldings that molded me towards this set of identities and to expose the ways in which my pathway through engineering has been (and will be) altered by them.…
Identity can be generally defined as the personal characteristics and traits which differentiate each individual from the other, however in “The myth of Latin woman: I just met a girl named Maria” by Cofer, Judith Ortiz and “The joy of reading and writing: superman and me” by Alexei Sherman, both authors demonstrate the theme identity in a different manner. Judith Cofer portrays how the society often stereotype individuals into groups without a doubt, in this particular essay, the offensive stereotype of Latino women without any particular reason but merely due to their identity. Alexei Sherman in “The joy of reading and writing: superman and me” also describes how society can have an impact on one’s identity; however Alexei was determined to build himself and challenge the society despite of its expectations.…
In everyday life, humans are surrounded with pressures that can influence the formation of their identity. External pressures such as the environment we live in, the culture we belong to and the presence of other people, are often uncontrollable and can have a crucial impact on our sense of self. This idea is explored in great depth in Ray Lawler’s classic Australian play, “The Summer of the Seventeenth Doll”, where it is reflected how these basic external pressures help to define different characters. It is also demonstrated, however, that embedded within individuals are internal demands, to which our sense of self can be equally vulnerable to.…
Identity is an intrinsic idea of one’s life. Whilst there are no certainties, the struggle of identity often happens, and the conflicts may depend on the individual himself. The conflict may occur due to various factors in one’s identities including their sexual orientations, skin colour and religious background. These variables may cause noticeable damages to one’s mentality and psychology, and hence lead the individual to struggle with who they are.…
As I was growing up, I never knew what it meant to be “Afghan-American”, frankly I didn’t even know a cohesive blend of the two cultures even existed. I saw the two as mutually exclusive identities, so I proceeded to act as an “American” with my school friends and as “Afghan” with my family. At the time, I thought this was normal and I was not aware of the negative effects it had on my personality and way of life. As my self confidence and identity strengthened, I realized how lucky I was to be Afghan and American. I finally saw the strengths in the two and merged them together. I now stand tall and proudly, expressing my utmost satisfaction with my identity. At UC Irvine, I assisted in the establishment of an Afghan Student Union and I have…
How does your identity make different? Everyone is special in their own way, all though they can be similar. My favorite color is purple, I've met people who dislike purple. Before I walked into high school I was considered a tall person at 5'4 ,but now I'm short compared to other people. When I was younger I used to live on a farm in South Carolina, my best friend was a chicken named May.…
Identity is one aspect of a human that makes one different from everyone else. This is the essential core of all humans. Each person is born in his own country and with his own unique and personal identity. However, as each one grows, his or her identity is consistently changing. What would happen if these factors created no distinction between one another? Would there be a clear contrast between people, or would everyone just be identical? It is evident that if there was no personal identity, then everyone would be the same and there would be no contrast or distinction between people. In Leila Ahmed’s “On becoming an Arab,” Jean Twenge’s “An Army of One: Me,” and Andrew Bacevich’s “When I Woke Up Tuesday Morning, It Was Friday,” each author discusses aspects of one’s identity. To Ahmed……, Andrew Bacevich explains the problems that America is having with foreign goods and oil, and how President Carter deals with the situation. To Twenge, the influence of education teaching self-esteem has created a lower educational standards and a raise of narcissism in a person. A person’s personal identity is formed and affected by their influence with their surroundings and the…
The shaping of our identity is aided by various influences in our lives, one of them being the groups to which we belong. There are different types of groups which we may find ourselves associated with, such as social, religious and cultural groups. Belonging to any one of these groups may be either by choice or a sense of obligation. For instance, the decision to belong to a certain social group is entirely dependent on our own free will, whereas being a part of a cultural group is not necessarily something we have control over, as people are generally born into a specific culture which may be difficult to depart from.…
My personal cultural background was full of many experiences that I carry with me from day to day to remind me what used to be. I grew up in what one would describe to be an upper middle class setting. I am the middle child of five. I have two sisters and two brothers; one of each gender older and younger. We were brought up in a single parent household, raised by our mom. We were afforded certain luxuries because of our moms work history with the federal government and the U.S. Air Force. My response to all of this may influence my future teaching styles and habits. Then the amount of interaction or close association I have experienced with people whose cultural context is different from mine has also played a big role in how I perceive and look at things. The impact of this has greatly shaped what I do from day to day.…
The identity we assume can often be a large part of how we see ourselves and how others around us can get a snapshot of our personalities, our origins, and how we wish to be portrayed. Sometimes the line between distinct identities can be blurred and a person can lose sight of who they are or where they feel like they belong most. Such can often be the case for immigrants as myself, who can sometimes struggle to find the identity that addresses the new life they have molded into and most represents their culture and experiences.…
Our individual identity is determined by what others think of us but only in part. Our identity is also comprised of inner qualities and outer representations of self. It consists of innumerable defining characteristics that make up the whole of who we are in any given moment. These fragments of ourselves include our sexuality, gender, and sense of belonging to a particular culture, nation, religion, family, or some other group. Our identity includes our looks, personality, beliefs and fears. Our identities are constantly growing, changing, and adapting to our everyday lives. This emphasizes the overriding link that one’s sense of belonging influences, or often dictates, individual identity. Each individual in society assigns themselves a particular role, whether it be as a mother, brother, retiree, performer, sportsman or as a part of their occupation, a doctor or lawyer. One’s entire sense of self is consumed by pursuit of fulfilling such a role in society. Often these roles influence how others view us. How heavily do they? What does it depend on? Can it change or alter? What might you do to affect it? Which identity is influenced: public or private? Does it come from within that makes us who we are, or is it the environment and the people in it that ultimately mould our identity? These are the questions that can arise when questioning the effect of others on our identity.…