Identity

Identity

These three wonderful stories have something great in common, identity. What influences a person's identity? Is it their homes, parents, religion, or maybe where they live? When do they get one? Do they get it when they understand right from wrong, or when they can read, or are they born with it? Everyone has one and nobody has the same, is there a point in everyone's life when they get one? A person's identity is his own, nobody put it there and nobody can take it out. Everyone in this world has a different identity because they all make their own over the course of their life. A person's identity also causes a person to have masculine and feminine traits. There is no one thing that gives a person their identity, there are however many different factors that contribute to one's identity.

What is someone's identity? Is it the way they look, the way they dress, or it could be many things all put together, or is it none of the above? To me someone's identity is a part of their being. Nobody will ever hold it, touch it, or even see it, but it is there. Everybody has one, it guilds your decision making, your thoughts, ideas, and dreams. You may think something is terrible while someone else does not even care and yet another person may laugh. Why? The answer is simple, but everyone has his own identity and personality. Everyone feels, acts, thinks, and dreams differently. People may have some of these things in common with one another, but they will not be totally the same, it is like a fingerprint, unique.

There are many origins to a person's identity, their family, friends, home life, religion, environment and others. But how does it get there, you do not go into a store and pick on off the shelf. A person's identity is developed over many years and put together by that same person. It comes from the individual's ability to think, reason, and form an opinion. Nobody has the same mind, or conscious. So how could anyone have the same identity as another. A person's identity is developed over many years from the time they become aware of their surroundings, to the time they decide if they are going to college, and even as they grow old their identity will change with them. As people's dreams are dreamed and goals are accomplished their identities will change with the individual. Their aspirations and values will change, causing their identities to change with it. It may be a slight alteration or a major overhaul but their identity will adjust to the person.

One of the factors of forming an identity will obviously be your family. One's family is invaluable to them. This is where Tula fits in. She grew up listening to her family and doing what they all wanted her to do. And eventually she really had to find her own identity by rebelling against the family that taught her everything. It was all about "tradition" and keeping up with the cycle. She chose her own path in life, what made her happy. Her family is always going to be there for her for a very long time, and yes, they will have a major impact on what she turns out to be in the future, but she will be happier with what she has decided on her own using what her parents taught her all along. Lots of people are fortunate enough to live with a mother and a father, some may have never had any brothers and sisters to play with as they grew up, but even with the same family influences, brothers and sisters still do not have the same identities. You definitely notice the difference in Tula and her sisters. They all resume the same backgrounds, but are different in many ways. Some may even say to have a "traditional" family would be bad for the development of an identity. If family members have no regard for keeping the other members of the family on the right path to being a good person, then what will they become. A large part of how someone turns out is due to the family. But there is a time to just let go of what you created and let them live.

Identity is something that you may instill in others. Like your students, children, friends, siblings, etc. As we read To Kill a Mockingbird, we