How Does Identity Shape Our Lives

An individual’s identity is a continual and dynamic process of narration in which both the individual and social partners are involved in “formulating, editing, applauding, and refusing various elements of the ever-produced narrative” (Humphreys & Brown, 2002). It is internalized and revised from a person’s “selective appropriation of past, present, and future” through introspection and interaction with social partners to create and maintain a coherent personal story (Miscenko & Day, 2015). There are multiple levels of identity that an individual may hold, and these levels interact and contribute to the way a person defines themselves.

Identity is who we are, even though it can be hard sometimes to find out exactly what that means. That is why our identities can be so easily changed and shaped by different things. This is especially true during our adolescent years, when we are vying for acceptance from others. Sometimes we are the ones who shape who we are. This can happen when we choose to ignore outside influences who would normally affect us. Nevertheless, most of the time we are shaped by other people. Human beings have a never ending want to be socially accepted. We are all insecure in our own way, leaving us prey to the influence of others. We are able to choose how we act and what we do, but even so we end up being changed by everyone who surrounds us. Although we have the freedom to make our own conscious decisions, ultimately the people around us shape who we are by the way they treat us.

What identity means to me is how a person or thing describes itself or is described. A person’s identity is based on their personality and who they are as a person. If a person is kind to other people and helps others this shows the person is caring so one of the person’s identity is that he/she is caring. People might identify themselves by saying that their compassionate, courageous, easygoing, determined, sensitive or even that their independent . Three words that identify me are that I am venturesome, ambitious, and athletic.

Identity. What is identity? One will say that it is the distinct personality of an individual. Others will say that identity is the behavior of a person in response to their surrounding environment. At certain points of time, some people search for their identity in order to understand their existence in life. In regards, identity is shaped into an individual through the social trials of life that involve family and peers, the religious beliefs by the practice of certain faiths, and cultural awareness through family history and traditions. These are what shape the identity of an individual.

     There are many aspects of identity in the poem “Sex without Love,” by Sharon Olds. I can relate my own thoughts to how the author views the subject that she talks about in this poem. There has been a situation in my own life where I was thinking to myself, just as the author was, “How do they do it, the ones who make love without love?” (Olds 740). Having been raised as a well-rounded and disciplined person, as well as religious, I know the discouragement of having premarital sex. It’s not just the immorality that these characters are experiencing that the author is talking about, but they probably have personal issues that have to do with a their self worth and identity. These

There is many things that shape identity big things and small things such as family, religion or even random people they have met in public. For example Juliet wouldn't be the same without her parents she would be alive and would have never met Romeo. One of the biggest things that shape someone's identity is life experiences, whether it's if you lost your dad or met an amazing person life experiences are a huge factor in shaping one's identity.

Identity is one’s morals, personality, and behavior. Society makes one act a certain way to make them try to fit in. Society plays a major role in shaping identity in different ways such as unemployment, racism, and poverty. In addition identity is influenced by the environment you live in or the people you hang around.

Personal identity is essential in the human experience. Identity is complex and can be broken down into two main groups: introspective identity, and bodily identity. Introspective identity is based off of the groups, mentalities, or beliefs that you align yourself with, and bodily identity is based off of the physical side of yourself. Whether physical or introspective, your identity impacts every action you take. Whether choices ranging from what colors you prefer to which college you want to attend are primarily based off of your introspective identity, which is a combination of both memory and consciousness, physical identity impacts how others perceive you. Consciousness is mainly the awareness of bodily identity as well as continuous introspective identify, while memory is awareness of introspective identity. These two different facets of identity are imperative in the distinction between bodily identity and introspective identity. In means of personal identity introspective identity (which is evident in memory), is essential, while bodily identity (based partially in consciousness) has less credit.

Identity is within all of us. Without it, we would be nothing. It determines just about any personality trait, habit or manner one can think of. That humans have such varied attitudes is intriguing, but where does identity come from? People identify themselves using not only qualities within them, but through culture and family as well.

We form and shape our identities by experiences, hurt, love, guilt and various other emotions as well as things we see others going through, all of these things whether they be good or bad help form and shape our identities.

This chapter concept was about being consciously aware that we communicate in multiple ways other than talking. Having a positive and healthy vibe is communicated with our confidence in who we are such as our personal interests, our functionality, and our awareness of our surroundings. It taught me to stay true to who i am and stand up for my beliefs. One component that i really enjoyed was, "Developing your interests and talents". This was all about developing one's identity through an artistic outlet. it encourages one to not be afraid of the unknown and to take risks to grow their hobby, into a skill. Relating to your environment's main points were to make one,s mark on their own environment. The action of getting out of the house and enjoying one's surroundings and also add to its growth.

In Don’s lecture, he discusses the dialectical model of Identity formation, which includes three components or circles that interact. The subjective reality, the objective reality and Indigenous objective reality. Subjective reality is the individual’s identity that is comprised of someone’s thoughts and feelings. Objective reality is outside of the self, encompassing the culture in mainstream society, such as institutions, history, capitalism and rules. The indigenous objective reality is influenced by both mainstream society and Aboriginal culture. People’s feelings and behaviours are likely to mimic those of the urban people around them.

Many people question themselves, what is it exactly that makes them unique? What is it that defines them as a unique person that no one in the world possesses? In philosophy, these questions do not have just one answer, and all answers are correct depending on which theory appeals most and makes sense to you. In general, there are two ways people approach this question, some say that a person’s identity is the “self” that carries all of their experiences, thoughts, memories, and consciousness (ego theorists), and some say that a person’s identity is just a bundle of experiences and events that a person has been through in their life, these people deny that the “self” exists (bundle theorists). In this paper, I will be arguing that a person’s identity is just a bundle of experiences, denying the self and the memory criterion.

While childhood seemed like a breeze, my adolescent years were anything but that. Adolescence, the transition between childhood and adulthood beginning with puberty, is a time full of physical and psychological changes both positive and negative. During this time individuals are in search of their identity, a task that can yield a lot of confusion. The question of who am I lingers in the back of adolescent minds and the answer anything but simple. This struggle for an identity and one’s place in society can lead to stress. Through exploration and soul searching, however, one might find their identity. For me, this question seemed impossible to answer, however, I always had a strong desire to fit in and be liked by others. Reading through the different developmental theories in the text, I started to compare them to events in my own life and noticed many significant similarities.

The first role that identity plays in is social influence. A person’s identity can influence whether that person is likely to show obedience or to conform. During their childhood, most individuals are taught to obey their parents, teachers, and other authority figures. This becomes a social norm in one’s own identity. Someone who has a strong sense of their own identity is more likely to exhibit independence instead of conforming. However, if the person does not want to damage their identity, they may show normative influence and conform in order to avoid being judged by their group. Informational influence can occur when a person is not confident in themselves and chooses to believe that others have more accurate information. This can happen when a person does not trust in their identity and relies on others for to help reduce their uncertainty.