How Identity Shapes Us?

How Identity Shapes Us

Who am I? Is a question that every one of us ask to ourselves. A person’s identity is shaped with different aspects in life. It can be from our family, friends, memories, cultures, personal interest and surrounding environments are all factors that tend to help shape a person’s identity.  Family and culture may influence a person’s sense of responsibilities, ethics and morals, tastes in music, humor and sports, and many other aspects of life. Friends and surrounding environments may influence a person’s taste in clothing, music, speech, and social activities. Personal interests are what truly set individuals apart. Finding identity is not as easy as it seems for some of us, some takes times to develop and some will find their identity in an unexpected way. Many theories were made to point where in life does identity form.

Our identity is shaped through many interactions we have trough out lifetime. James Marcia (1966), proposed that identity formation is the combined outcome of an individual’s exploration and commitment. Exploration refers to the area that people experiment with different directions and beliefs, whereas commitment refers to the decisions people make about the path they are currently on and their following loyalty to that path. One of the main factors that create my identity is my religious view.  For example, growing up in a very stiff culture and religion helps me to define who I really am. Growing up I would read Al-Quran which is a central religion text of Islam, attending Islamic class every day at school, and fasting in Ramadhan (the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. It is a period of prayer, fasting, charity-giving and self-accountability for Muslims), these activities and experiences I have growing up learning and gaining my knowledge of my religious views molds my identity as a person.  Often, I would hesitate, agitated and confused to make my way to my goal in life, however having faith in God and believing for a better days, helps me strength my paths and commitments for me to keep on living and achieved my goal in life.

Experience is also a part that makes me who I am today. Honnets recognition theory, RPL (recognition of prior learning) is a process that reviews, evaluates, knowledges and certificates uncredited skills and knowledge gained through experienced-based learning in a large of settings such as the home, workplace, community and education (Thomas 2000).  Experience is a process take I can choose to make a perception and used words and create labels and beliefs to reference it as an empowering way. For example, if I failed a test or got rejected by the university that I wanted to attend, I can perceive it as a learning experience. I can identify with others and help those who are going through a similar situation. I can identify with having a new opportunity, with being curious, with improvement. However, if I choose to label myself as a “failure” or an “idiot”, my motivation to improve myself falls, my personal power decrease because mistake will teaches me how to make better decision and be more cautious with the decision that I will make in the further days. Having knowledge and education also created me as a person, through education I learn my strength and weakness and it helps me to develop my plan in life and my choice of career in the future. Also, it gives me confidence to take a bigger step in the world and see the world as an approachable place.