Personal Essay : Identity Expository Essay

Most people, unless they choose to be an outsider, want to be considered “cool.” Whether it’s to fit in with a peer group, or clique, or to impress someone in particular, like a member of the opposite sex, or a potential mate. Or possibly to gain something from an individual for financial or social gain (see “Scamming”).

A saying i've kept to myself is to get back up when knocked down. This saying doesn’t just stand for getting up when literally knocked down but can keep a deeper meaning than what it says as for example being knocked down by a difficult obstacle to overcome and getting up to find a way to get past it and achieving it. Some people may not see this as something important but they don’t think about how getting up after knocked down can be something that can or would have been like a positive outcome into their life and how they are given two choices when knocked down which is to stay down or get back up and continue going forward.

I come from two very different cultures Russian and American. Moving to the United States at age fourteen, I could recognize the differences in classes and gender in both of the cultures. But there is one fact, you can’t tell class difference by appearance.

Identity is what defines us as a person. Everyone one on earth has their own unique identity. To showcase my identity, I created a collage of images and descriptive words, called an identi-kit. This identi-kit shows what I feel like is my identity to myself and the others. My identi-kit identifies me as a mixed martial artist. The identi-kit has images of a deadly shark with mixed martial arts gloves on that say mixed martial arts on the front and fight shorts with the words competitor and warrior on them. It also has descriptive words like “killer instinct” and “fight” which describe my spirit. There are three assumptions that come to question when asking about one’s identity. The first is if you were born with this

It is quite uncomfortable and difficult for me to have a discussion about my social identity because I do not identify myself with a specific group of people. I consider myself an open member of our global society. Even though I was born into a Polish household and raised amongst first generation Americans, I do not necessarily identify as a Pole, American, or Polish-American. Technically, I am a Polish American since I was born in America and raised by Polish parents, but that does not necessarily mean that I identify as a "Polish American." If I were to identify myself as one, I would feel as though my identity would be limited to Polish and American cultural and social values. I am not a book that can be neatly and properly stored on

Identity-“Ones personal qualities.”Identiy is something only he or she can fully define. My uncle says I am affectionate,cheerful, and calm. My grandmother sees me as slim, pretty and sweet. My dad described me as perky, cheerful and happy, my mom says beautiful, gentle, and self-conscious. These adjectives describe me accurately, yet they are only abstract versions of me. Adjectives cannot begin to describe me and I aknowlege these descriptions for what they are, a condensed translation from my outward self to the world. It is impossible for anyone to understand me completely because nobody has experienced the things I have. My mother has never cherished a raggedy doll named Katie and my father never

mostly of Caucasian. Although I am a quick learner, it was especially hard for me

Over the course of your life, you come to struggle with the philosophical idea of personal identity; the thing that makes you, you. Oneself may shape their identity around aspects of their life that they have no control over like race and physical traits, as well as decisions that are made throughout their lives like affiliations and religion. Your personal identity can be seen through your passions and interactions with others. An individual’s search for their identity is something that may occur in everyone’s’ life. In the novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie highlights the theme of how the search for identity is always prevalent, through the conflicted characters of Junior and Mary throughout the novel.

There are many factors that shape us into who we are, and who we will become. Some of these factors we can control, while others we cannot. While we are born into many traits of our identities, much of our other behavior is learned. My identity, for example, is “based not only on responses to the question ‘Who am I?’ but also on responses to the question ‘Who am I in relation to others?’” (Allen, 2011, p. 11). My identity and the question of who I am, are both influenced by many aspects of my life, including my hometown, my family, my friends, and my beliefs and moral values.

My identity is something that that no one can take away from me. As I am still growing and learning, I can say that I have found many things that appeal to me. My interests will help define my personality and express myself in ways that I can’t express through words. I enjoy finding new things to do and doing my best in aiming towards my goals. I have many goals, but I know that I can only accomplish them through patience and perseverance.

“Americans aren’t idyll daydreamers; they take the initiative.” (Cato.org) In his statement, Edward Hudgins, the director of regulatory studies at the Cato Institute, captures the essence of “Americaness.” Since the publishing of Ben Franklin’s Autobiography in 1790, this definition of Americans as go-getters and self-made-men has become stock. While Franklin’s life story helped define the American identity, the discussion of what an American is began decades before, as can be seen through J. Hector St. John de Crevoeur’s Letters of an American Farmer. Franklin and Crevecoeur both touch on American archetypes including the Yeoman Farmer Ideal, the free, self-made man, and the noble savage. These

Though I am not a teenager, I still have not developed an entire sense of identity cohesion. I believe my identity will not be complete until later on in my life. Nevertheless, I have experienced some role confusion around ages 18 and 19 when I first enrolled in college. I wasn’t sure what major I was going to study or what career I wanted to pursue. The confusion has lessened and I firmly identify with being a psychology major. However, I haven’t chosen a career to pursue. Since I don’t have identity cohesion it leads me to be indecisive in who I am, what I want to become, and the goals I set for my future. I can see myself trying different jobs or roles before I choose a permanent position for a career that I can incorporate into my identity.

Growing up surrounded by idealized American values and my mother’s traditional Chinese-Vietnamese principles challenged my identity as a first-generation Asian American. I excelled in school. I pushed myself to join programs such as Paideia, an English course integrated with history to attain higher levels of critical thinking. Despite being academically independent, my good grades and interest in English demonstrated how well I understood the language. Cantonese, the language I used to communicate with my mom, was an entirely different story. Because my mother would work night shifts and then sleep during the day, we could barely spend any time together, creating a lack of communication. I eventually lost my fluency in Cantonese. During Christmas,

She sits on the armrest of her wine-stained couch, then falls backward with a cushioned thud. Her thick, kinky hair lays splayed under her. Her large, veiny hands lift up to her tear-soaked face, covering her eyes. She sighs aloud summoning her roommates’ attention.

Hey! I know this is random and weird but I was reminded of a situation in which I need to apologize for something I said. A few months back we were at basil 'n lime with some people from Oakey and my mom was wondering if I could get a ride where she was having dinner with Dave. I made the comment "I knew she wasn't going to pick me up." That was a very disrespectful and false thing of me to say about my mom. She was on her way to get me but they just thought if I could be dropped off where they were at that we three could hang out for a little bit. I gave my mom a really bad image and I want to apologize for the things I said and I hope you forgive me. I know it was awhile ago but it had been sitting on my mind a lot and I needed to get it