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Identity And Identity Essay

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Religion was a significant part of my childhood. I went to church every Sunday, with the occasional weeknight bible studies and youth groups thrown in the mix. At church I was taught that my God is forgiving, loving, and accepting. As a kid, this was amazing to me. I loved going to church and was so proud of my faith. Back then, my role models were limited to God, and my favorite aunt, Sundee. Sundee was one of the most beautiful, smart, and loving women in my life. She was also gay. As a kid this was normal to me, I did not care one bit that she chose to kiss girls rather than boys. It just seemed so unimportant to me. I took so much pride in looking up to my aunt, but also in being religious. The first time I felt betrayed by my own identity was when I was told that God does not accept gay people. I was at Sunday School and I still remember the horrible feelings of shame and confusion flooded my ten year old body. I found out that a big part of what I believed in, contradicted my feelings. I still knew deep down that I accepted people, regardless of sexuality. Two factors of my identity, that I had overlapping for so long, finally clashed. I did not know which side to believe anymore. I developed new borders in my identity. Much like mine, in the poem “Borderlands”, Gloria Anzaldua writes about her own identity borders. Being a mix of many different races and cultures, she describes herself as being “caught in the crossfire between camps… not knowing which side to turn to,

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