What Identity Means to Me

Amy Worthington

9/6/2016

Professor Young

ENGL 1100, Writing Skills Workshop

What Identity Means to Me

            Your identity is formed by where you come from, what you believe in, and who you chose to be as a person. It is what makes you unique and different from other people around you. To me identity is how you behave and carry yourself in your public and private life. A person may act crazy in front of their friends, professional in front of their co – workers, and respectful in front of their parents. That doesn’t mean that they are acting different from who they are. They are behaving in a way that they believe is appropriate in the situation that they are in. All of the ways that they act is what makes up their identity as a whole.

“I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself.” (Pg. 249). I do not come from a different country, speak a different language, or know what it’s like to feel ashamed or alone because of what language you speak. I can imagine what it feels like, but I can’t fully understand what other people around me go through. To me a big part of what makes up your identity is where you are from. Where you live can determine what you can do for fun, how you act now, and who and what you can identify yourself with. For example, I am from Philadelphia which is a big city. I feel like living in the city made me tougher and more easy going. I can identify with people who were raised in Philly because of the slang words that we use and the way that we talk to each other in general. Even if you want to put your past behind you and not think about where you are from, it will still have shaped you into the person that you are today.

In the story, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, one quote stood out to me. The author says “There are more subtle ways that we internalize identification, especially in the forms of images and emotions.” (pg. 253) I think that your identity is made up of how you would act in certain situations. This could be how you react to bad news, sad news, or what you are watching on television. I think that depending on your response, it could show other people around you who you are as a person and how you choose to identify yourself.

As I get older or enter new situations in my life, I feel like my identity is changing. I feel disconnected with myself as a person. But the truth is that as you mature and become older you learn new skills and have to adapt to different situations depending on your age. Your identity is forever changing and developing throughout your whole life.