Process Essay: Who Is A Freshman's Personal Identity?

High School culture has changed since the “old days.” Students from all grades are not only striving for academic success, but also participate in many extracurricular activities as outside forces continue to impact social life. With this comes the typical struggles of students figuring out who they are, and what kind of person they want to become as college becomes a daunting factor.

As you continue to go through each grade, it becomes harder to distinguish yourself from those around you as you are ushered through the cookie cutter of life in order to excel in the world hoping to be prepared for experiences that you may face.Through college, one is presented with the opportunity to reinvent themselves and really discover who they are. I hope to take advantage of this newfound freedom in order to develop who I am as a person as I prepare my self for the obstacles that I will soon face. I believe this step in life will help me break out of my metaphorical cocoon to become more comfortable with who I started out as and who I will become.

Identity and the concept of one's self certainly changes at the emergence of college; best explained through Goffman's DRAMATURGICAL THEORY (Conley 135). Essentially the role one plays significantly changes; one is expected to put on a sort of performance in terms of their actions; we as students dress alike in similar casual attire and sit in oftentimes very crowded and sometimes uncomfortable lecture halls, take notes, and, for the most part, give attention to the lecturer at hand. These actions allow for us as college students to maintain a good FACE VALUE (137), which is the opinion and esteem which other students and professors then deem high when one follows the social norm to an acceptable degree, and, essentially, becomes likable due

Once you get into college there are generally very few people who know you unless you decide to go to a school that is either small or your whole hometown always go to after they graduate. Since there are so few people it gives students the chance to make a new life. Anyone is able to make a new front for them. The sky is the limits when it comes to making the new identity. The book smart student is able to act like the jock or the shy child is able to change into the extremely extrovert person if they choose to do so once they go to college. The only issue with this would be

Along with the excitement and anticipation that come with heading off to college, freshmen often find questions of belonging lurking in the background: Am I going to make friends? Are people going to respect me? Will I fit in?

Identity is a socially and historically constructed concept. An individual learns about their own identity through interactions with family, peers, organizations, media, and educational institutions. Education and identity are two closely related topics. On average, most Americans will spend a fourth of their life in educational institutions. During this time period students are growing and maturing, but most importantly they are discovering themselves. Students realize their qualities, determine their morals, and establish their beliefs during this time of instruction. Undoubtedly, education forms and challenges a person’s identity throughout the years.

The opportunity that a higher education has on an individual can have an enormous positive impact on their personal identity. For the typical child growing up, they were under some sort of authority whether that was their parents, teachers, and employers. But once a person walks onto a college campus for the first moment on their own, they are in complete control of themself. It can be exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. The ambivalence of emotions one feels when they are fully responsible for their education and actions is an experience that one cannot get in many others places. There are thousands of other students trying to find their identities in an academic setting. One can discover their purpose and identity in life while studying at a university. They have the chance to forms bonds that could last of lifetime. But again, if the

The transition from high school to college is a dynamic time in one’s life that parallels the change from childhood to adulthood. Both of these changes are dramatic and, as a result, feelings are difficult to put down into words. A messy combination of emotions fills the heart, surfacing in strange ways. Confident high school seniors go right back to the bottom of the chain when entering college as freshmen. These students start all over, just like entering grade school or high school for the first time. The move up from high school to college signals the switch from dependence to self-sufficiency. From a personal point of view, going through the experience of graduating high school and transferring to a residential college campus at STLCOP, made me realize I was no longer a kid and capable of making my own decisions.

The self relies on other people’s responses to develop the sense of identity that the individual wants to portray (Sandstrom et al. 2014). Using the responses from my older siblings, I gathered information on how I was supposed to be acting. By using these reflected appraisals I started the process of developing my university student identity. Moreover, I started interpreting other people’s actions and behaviours towards me as a guide to see if I was fitting in or needed to tweak my image at all. I used discussions about classes to see how the other individual was speaking of the professor, the actual course, or the course load. By using their actions and seeing that we both shared some similar views on the course, I knew I was on the right track. This was the moment through the middle of the first semester that I really started to internalize this self-image as me as a university

Within the package of individuality comes with a long journey of discovery. Especially, when entering high school we are faced with the ultimate task of finding ourselves. We are told by many, that this journey that we are forced to part-take in, is not gonna be an easy one. The process may take the entire four year term, or less, maybe even more. Once you find the identity that your destiny desires, you feel a sense of having your own spot in this very different world. All you have to do is follow these simple steps of finding your identity, such as: making mistakes, falling, learning when to get back up, and using those lessons to shape you into the individual that you were meant to be.

Identity is what evolves us, it is what makes us think the way we do, and act the way we act, in essence, a person’s identity is their everything. Identity separates us from everyone else, and while one may be very similar to another, there is no one who is exactly like you; someone who has experienced exactly what you have, feels the way you do about subjects, and reacts the same to the events and experiences you have had. This became prevalent to me as I read through many books, that everyone goes through the process of finding who they are. A prevalent theme throughout literature is the idea that over time one develops their identity through life over time, in contrast to being born with one identity and having the same

My high school experiences have become imprinted into my memory and parts of me. I changed entirely from the first day I walked in as a freshmen to the last day I walked across the stage with my diploma. Not only do I look different, but I act, think, and understand differently. Our identities are a process of social encounters with different groups of people, contrasting systems, and self-defining moments that we face in high school. I realize now that an individual’s character is largely constructed by other people’s opinions, unwritten rules, and a subliminal hierarchy. The reality of high school makes it difficult to escape the ideal image of a perfect student, friend, respectful significant other, and model child. With all these different forces pulling students back and forth, the primary goal is to be accepted, despite how much change one must undergo. From my high school experiences I know how to deal with peer pressure, alienation, and cliques. Thus, my former high school social lessons and knowledge allow me to reshape my perception, values, and self-image to this day.

For first year students coming straight from high school, college life can either be very exciting or overwhelming depending on how well one prepares for it. Some have the notion that college is fun and is all about partying, while some believe that it is an environment in which they can achieve the ultimate freedom thus escape the stringent rules made by their parents at home. Others look forward to experiencing a different learning environment while being exposed to different cultures and sharing different academic knowledge. Successful assimilation into college life is determined by the student’s capability to transform into the new role of a college student. Numerous students face challenges they have never experienced before which can

Teenage years are the time of a person’s life when they really start exploring their identity, who they are and who they want to be. During these years it can be hard trying to figure out who you are and where you belong, with the constant

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one student to dissolve the bonds which have held him to his high school life, he can get fairly intimidated. Making the transition from high school to college can be a tough one. I remember my experience in such a transition vividly, as it was only a short time ago.