What Is My Identity

Every year I look back on the previous and I see how much I have changed. I see the friends I have gained and lost. The heartbreak and the happiness. Despite how rough times have gotten, it has truly made me stronger. Everything has shaped who I am today, it has shaped my identity. Identity is a complex topic because it consists of changeable and unchangeable traits and outside internal influences; my own identity has been shaped by going from private to public school, young life camp, and my current friends.

Identity may be a bit hard to define because of its content its broadness, every country have their own way of building, cooking, praying, playing, joking, fishing, farming, dressing, even speaking.

As far as identity and experiences go, I can easily follow how their effects mold my values and perception of the world. Many aspects of my education and childhood, for example, correspond pretty directly with general areas of privilege. I am White, able-bodied, and have always lived in relative safety. These are traits that I, and others like me, often take for granted, paying little attention to the societal structures that arbitrate them as advantages. Even among the places where my identity does deviate from dominant culture, many seem trivial within a bigger picture: born while my mother was in college, only one parent with a degree, a young childhood with much less money than I remember having in my later years. These, and many others, of course, had their impacts, but not on a scale that prepares me for bigger issues. In many ways, I have led a privileged life, and truthfully, this has made me apprehensive about whether I actually have any qualification that legitimizes me as an authority over countless students whose stories I can barely even fathom in the abstract.

Daughter, student, journalist, sister, Catholic, middle-class -- that 's just scratching the surface of what my identity is. As author Barbara Ryan points out, I know I don 't have a single identity and I know it is not fixed, but I wasn 't quite sure of what "identity politics" was. Thankfully, Ryan did a great job of explaining how our identities, as well as how we perceive other 's identities, or how we allow for people 's identities to affect the way we act think of and act toward them, can affect social movements. People 's identities can also lead to the fragmentation of people of a social movement who might have a common goal. Reading this introduction and now better understanding how identities can aid in the buffering of people

As of today, the most important aspects of my intersectionalities are my age and race. When I was a child, my mother would often specifically say a Chinese word and show the object itself. The one I can recall most clearly is “Li”, which means pear. Furthermore, she would exhibit various things that are from Chinese culture, such as a Chinese New Year festival and dragon dances on television, the Chinese dragon my brother made in preschool, or Chinese music. Also, I was addicted to fried rice at a young age and I often consumed at Asian restaurants, persuading me to accept my background. As a result, I perceived that my Chinese heritage was an idiosyncratic aspect of myself, making it a foremost aspect of my identity. Furthermore, I was born

I feel like the most challenging thing for me was explaining my identity box item. I probably over thought the assignment, but personally finding something that symbolizes my identity or has a deep meaning to me was kind of difficult. I am not really deeply involved in my culture or any of these categories. It made me question whether I should be more in touch with these identities, since I do not feel a strong connection to them. For the most part I feel like these labels separate us and bring us farther apart as human beings. They divide us by what makes us different, instead of focusing on how we are all the same. On the other hand, something I found socially challenging in this class is getting myself to be more involved in participating. Since I have severe social anxiety this class makes me talk more than I normally would in a class. Although, I do not think

Today being able to identify yourself is such a huge controversy. Are you female or male or transgender? These are all labels to me. Determining who you are is much deeper than physical appearance. It’s who you are not what you are. I am trinity. I am a young aspiring neurologist, and I faced many adversities and obstacles that tried to swayed me from my path of success but instead the wind blew from behind and pushed me to excel faster. This wind I speak of the wind that pushes my wa’a or canoe, and the canoe is my method of transportation to my destination. My destination is my goal or destiny and my support is my paddle. I am my paddle. Every crack of faded spot represents my struggles. The first crack presented itself in 2014 when I was diagnosed with graves disease.

This is an autobiography about myself. In this autobiography, I’m going to tell you some of the things that has shaped me into who I am today. There will be about ten things I’m going to name.

I am truly proud of my background and how it has formed my identity. My background consists of me being Portuguese. I could not be any more thankful for how greatly my background has impacted my life into what it is now. It has helped me gain many friends that I am still very close to and gain interests that have started since I was a child. Simply experiencing my family’s numerous customs and traditions is why I love to express that I am Portuguese. It has given me the opportunity to visit Portugal every year during each summer where I fall in love with the country each time. Being Portuguese has taught me many lessons throughout life that I will continue to pass on for future generations of my family.

Unlocking the doors of the past, gives way to a deeper reflection of one's inner self. We begin our journey to find my identity and to perhaps find a better understanding of how I came to be. A heritage originating from the Caucasus Mountains to my new found origin, beginning in New Jersey. My parents migrated to NJ and brought much of their tradition and culture, which to them was a foreign land. Hard-working individuals who were always concerned about their children's well-being and happiness. The strict traditional make-up of our family home consisted of a mother and father routinely working on set hours. My mother mostly did the cooking and household chores while my father did repairs, took out the garbage and keep up with the landscaping. Once school started, English became the first language spoken in the house. Aside from the English language, a second and third language was developed through indirect exposure which is an added plus, yet in a sense decreases the writing skills, due to the lack of vocabulary words which are the creative elements which forms an eloquent style of delivery. I recall memories of the times they would sit down at the kitchen table discussing the finances of the family making sure there was money saved, for a rainy day. They were definitely law abiding citizens that took pride in their home as well as the

Identity. What is it? Where does it come from? Where do humans get that sense of “I’m going to be this way” or “I’m going to believe in this” or “This is what makes me, me”. Everyone has a different identity, we all have dreams, goals, perspectives, and different personalities, and this is all what makes being human beautiful. Identity, I believe, consists on components that build character on how other people view you. Sometimes, stereotypes get in the way of this. You’re identity is part of how you live yes, but how you look and how you present yourself is not really a part of who you truly are on the inside.

Advertiser have become masters at what they do. As a result advertisement is one of the most lucrative businesses! Advertisers have learned how to target specific groups to get there product sold. Advertisment had also become more apparent on social media as it has become a part of our everyday lives. Advertisers have become crafty and creative with where their ads are found. Being part of the younger generation, advertisers often target my generation and its easy to recognize when. Many times if a company wants its product targeted at youth they include a reference to current pop culture. This technique is meant to make what ever company is being advertised look “cool” and “up to date with the times.” Advertisers have a certain idea of what our identity is as youth people. There are

The environment, family, and community I have grown up in has shaped me as a person. So far, I grew up in the same house all seventeen years of my life. My personality has grown and molded over the years of middle school and high school based off the lessons I have learned and the things I’ve been through.

My purpose is to show my individuality and to express myself. This is for others including myself, to see and to remind us that our identity is very complex.

PROMPT: “Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.”