Personal Narrative: Defining Who I Am Today

My identity can be defined by moments in my life. Moving to Canada, learning English and going to high school are three major moments in my life. Going through these experiences have changed the person in me and made me more confident, stronger, better in everything.

Starting high school can be a little scary, especially when you have no guidance from siblings, like me, being the first one from my family to have an education. But that did not stop me from succeeding, I?ve always been confident and determined. I?m an enthusiastic when it comes to trying new things. Who would have thought I was going to be a good athlete plus a book geek, when in my past years I was just a regular kid. I was pretty excited about joining a club that had a connection with high school, that way I didn?t have to start from zero, I always want to be a step ahead. Fortunately, in summer, a high school coach was recruiting freshmen for running either cross country or track, they both involve running, so I considered it like the same sport with different timing. And this is when it all started. Running

Growing up, I went through so many obstacles that have helped me shape me into who I am today. In elementary, I struggled with learning English. Both of my parents are Spanish speaking so school was hard for me. All the way up until middle school, I grew up with an abusive father. My parents eventually got divorced. I was raised by a single mother and was bullied a lot. I was always scared, confused, alone, and angry. I suffered emotionally and physically. I felt lifeless. In 7th grade, I started to become more active in the church ,and my life change for the better. I stopped holding resentment towards my father. Once my parents finally got a divorce, I was finally able to start to live. All the pain I went through made me stronger and more knowledgeable. My father showed me what not to be ,and made me realize I deserved better.

Have you ever felt robbed of a childhood? At the age of six, I was placed into the DYFS system. I moved from house to house, not really having the chance to grow up like normal children. I didn’t get to experience things such as ; asking my older sister advice on boys, learning how to cook grandma’s favorite recipe, or going on family vacation to Disney world . I worked hard to get where I am right now. My experiences have made me of who I am today , my story will tell you my background, where I came from and why my application is incomplete without it.

One aspect of my identity that has shaped my life experience and the way I see the world is my race. I am an African- American who has Nigerian descent from both parents. Growing up African American is hard for many of us, but we always come together to help each other out. We get judged for our skin color, religion, sexuality, and economic status. When I was younger, I always thought about what other people would say about me and how I looked. Even though it was hard seeing how other races portrayed my race, I have learned to embrace my skin color and not let anybody judge me. The society believes that African Americans are lazy, uneducated, and violent. Things people say about me and my race only make me want to prove myself to them that I am proud of my race and would never change myself for anybody.

My Identity connects to my culture because it describes the way I look and the point of view I have on certain topics. My culture is the Native American tribe, Wampanoag and I am also Mexican. I have some facial features and body structures from both sides of the family like: most of my family has brown or black hair, we are taller than the average human, and our faces have an oval shape. Some topics that my family has taught me from both sides of the family is, family always sticks together and always comes first, and If you see bad things going on in the world, always try to help and do whats right. From my Dad’s side of the family, I learned tons about survival skills and on my Mom’s side I learned a lot about traditions. An example from

Who am i? I am an individual who has achieved many goals despite a childhood and adolecense with much adversity. I grew up I Santa Clarita, California my child hood was realativley normal . My grandmother mary died, when I was 7 and my mother started drinking heavily . By the time I was 11 she was a raging alcoholic and was depressed most of the time. I was helpless, at the same time my father became a drug addict. As a result of her alcoholism my mother contacted cirrhosis and when I was 13 she passed away. I was devastated and too young to lose my mother.

What defines me is my drive to help people, and the adrenaline and mental high I get from doing it. I can accredit this to my Aunt Rhonda who was a Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) During my early childhood. I remember her letting me sit on her lap after she got back from a long weekend of volunteering, and me marveling over her stories of the shift. By the time I got to elementary school, I had started carrying extra band-aids in my backpack so as to save the life of a possible wounded classmate. When I got into middle school, I was familiar with the first responder standards of care and had my own basic medical bag. I spent my weekends reading “Grey's Anatomy” and watching endotracheal intubation demonstrations on youtube instead of doing my homework. But everything I

How does one define their identity? What are the most important things in life to you? Many cannot answer this question. It’s a problem many people face and try to find a solution to. Everyone is born into different cultures, families and even communities, but how we define our identity is from our personal attributes, our skills and abilities that we possess and even our interests and hobbies. If there’s something about you that you believe defines you in a big way, this could be considered your identity. Our identities are a complex interworking of genetics, our cultural and familial upbringing, spirituality, social circles, personal choice and taste, our community, as well as many other traits. I have an identity that specifically pertains to me. It’s been forming ever since the day I’ve been born and

What is identity? Identity to me is how someone views themselves as well as how they

I am a white American female. Another term that can be used to describe my race is caucasian. Some characteristics that come with my race include a fair skin tone and naturally light colored hair. I do not think that anyone can truly be a “pure” race because family trees expand genetically within multiple races, especially in current times. People of all races are reproducing and creating a more mixed environment than ever before.

I remember a past experience that has influenced me to how I am today. I used to be afraid of heights until I went on an airplane. It had been my first time to ride an airplane and be in the air. When I first stepped on the plane I was very shaky about going. When the plane began to take off from the airport I was very nervous. We were up in the sky and I wanted to be back on the ground in a few minutes. It took a few hours. When we landed in Georgia we got off the plane and got our items.

I would say distraction was one of the challenges I had to overcome to get where I am today. My friends, relationships, staying up late, watching television or doing something else rather than doing my work, would always back track me even if I thought “I’ll be okay” and just catch back up; it’s not that easy. I use to focus so much on other people in my life, I’d forget about myself and what’s best for me. When I was in the middle school, I would get so distracted by my cell phone, my mom would have a restriction on it so that I couldn’t send or receive text within school hours. Nevertheless, I didn’t understand, but now I see where it could hurt my grades.

Every individual in society is shaped by several factors— particularly, their past. Within their past, there are memorable moments, this includes the calamities we all face throughout our lives. In fact, my own hardships have, too, impacted me immensely by shaping me who I am today. I have faced several forms of pivots and falls throughout my journey of maturity, including domestic violence.

Identity. Who we are. How we define ourselves. Imagine taking away something that defines you. You’re left feeling “who am I?”