How do you believe Identity is formed Essay Example for Free

How do you believe Identity is formed Essay Identity cannot be formed and defined in one category; it is defined in many ways. Our Identity is formed by our race, culture, language, belief and environment. Sarah Morris described,† Every thing around what and us shapes who we became we believe about other and ourselves. † (1) In the book Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? (2) Shows that identity is formed by the following category: objects possessions, creations, interests, friends, family, work hobbies, practices, habits, choices, values, beliefs, appearance and ethnicity. I agree that identity is formed in the entire category list above together to shape up who we are. However finding who we are is not easy but the more we find out about our self the better we know who we are. To begin with, identity is basically the question â€Å" Who am I? † Tatum, 2003, p. 18, himself writes, â€Å" The answer depends in large part on who the world around me says I am. † (3) I think this is true because people view other people feedback and suggestion to help us learn more about who we are. One category that affects who we are is our race. Parham, Thomas A, Helms, Janet E article The Influence of Black Students racial identitudes on preferences for counselor’s race writes, â€Å" Racial self-designation (e. g. , black, Negro, Afro-American) was not associated with preferences for either Black or white counselors. † In other words, everyone defined themselves differently, and by knowing what race you are it will affect your life. Another example is when you apply for a job or anything; there is a race box where you have to put yourself in one category. The race you check may affect you from getting accepted or not. Therefore, one way identity could be defined is your race. Another category that defined your identity is culture. Culture identity is a person’s background and how you can refer to a person. This also means where you are from, what language you speak and your religion. For example, according to Chaim I. Waxman, the video talks about how people mention Jewish and their religion. To put it another way, the way people mention the Jewish it may affect the Jewish by talking about their, politics, religion and culture wise. The video also shows how angry he was about people talking about Jewish. He also talk about how Jewish doesn’t reveal themselves in religion in American now. (4) Moreover, one famous poem by Amy Tan called Mother Tongue describes about how people make fun of her mother because she does not speak English perfectly. Amy Tan emphasizes the idea that we all speak different languages and that we are categorized by the way we speak. I agree that because my experience is similar to her mom, which confirms it. As a result Instead of making fun of people, we should treat everyone the same no matter how they speak. Culture and your language is a big part of what make your identity. In Erikson view of identity, he believed that throughout each person’s lifetime, they would experience different conflicts. Then he describe those experience help us throughout our life on figuring out who we are. I agree with Erikson because I believe every experience you have, it will help you learn more about yourself. For example I have the experience to talk in front of judges and students, this has affected me by learning the skill to speak in front of audience. Another reason why I agree with Erikson is because in order to find out what we like, we need to go out and experience everything and see what we enjoy doing the most. Erik Erikson’s theory of identity formation support my statement of identity cannot be formed or defined in one category but in many ways and experience is another way that formed your identity. Although identity could be formed in more than one category but identity could also be formed in more than one theory. According to James Marcia, she create a four identity statuses which are: 1) Identity Diffusion: When a person has not yet thought about or resolved their identity and they have not yet established future life direction. ) Identity Foreclosure: When a person is committed to an identity, but that commitment was made without exploration as to what really suits them best. 3) Identity Moratorium: When a person is actually experiencing an identity crisis and actively searching for the answers to questions they have about their life commitments. 4) Identity Achievement: When a person has solved the identity issues by making commitments to goals, beliefs and values. Both Marcia and Erikson theory of identity formation have their own perspective while I think both of them is right. We will somehow experience both theories that Marcia and Erikson wrote. Erikson writes, â€Å"If the Identity vs. Role Confusion crisis is not solved, an adolescent will be confused about their identity and the roles they should have as adults. The idea is that failure to form ones own identity leads to failure to form a shared identity with others. Which could lead to instability in many areas as an adult. † As a result both identity shows that identity is not completed with one specific word or category but in many ways. Furthermore, according to parentteachersupport. org, it states, â€Å"Forming identity is the most serious function of adolescence, the period between ages 12 and 25. Without a well-formed identity a person will encounter one problem after another during adult life. With a well-formed identity a person demonstrates a sense of being at home with self and experiencing sameness in personality although operating in a variety of roles. While interacting with many different individuals, such a person receives similar reactions on a consistent basis. istent basis. † Shows how important a person need to know who they are in order to avoid some problems during our lifetime. Especially when you are an adult, you will be struggle during adult life if you don’t know who you are. When a person is well formed about his/her identity these are the following description from the same site: He is comfortable with who he is and does not try to live the identity of another person. She recognizes and accepts her strengths, limitations, talents, and aptitudes. He chooses which qualities of others and which environments are most beneficial for self grow. She knows what psychological defenses are most appropriate for her in the face of threat and anxiety. He has learned what instincts/intuitions, needs and roles are most useful to his well-being. She is counted upon as an accountable part of a larger whole. This is why it is important to know your identity in order to be confident about who you are and recognized your strengths. Not only does identity formed in more than one way but identity also affects your lifetime. According to Formation Education for Parent, Teacher and child, identity means â€Å" who I truly am or who I believe I truly am† and by answering that it contains more than one answer which means identity is more than one answer. It is being said that identity formation is at heart of self-esteem, attitudes, spiritual development, pro-social behavior, healthy relationships and personal accomplishment. Those are just some formation of identity and of course there is more than just those. In the same site, it also describes different kinds of identity such as teacher identity. For instead, parents establish the foundation for identity formation through parenting practices that support growth in personal security, autonomy, initiative, and industry. While teachers contribute to growth in interaction, classroom practices and teaching strategies provide student exercise in those same foundational elements. To summarize this paragraph, there is different kind of formation of identity and many ways to s=describe identity. Hoare defined identity as â€Å" a sense of who one is as a person and as a contributor to society, it is personal coherence or self- sameness through evolving time, social change, and altered role requirements. † Basically this means identity provides one with a sense of who you are. One personal, social and culture influences on identity formation. Terrie Loye describes gender identity as being a male or female, which linked to sexual expression. Her thought about identity is simple because identity is what helps you change and what change you. Bosma and Kunnen (2001) support the idea that peers can act as models and provide diversity and opportunity. On the other hand, I agree with them because your friends influence your behaviors and your personalities that help you change in a good or bad way. Terrie Loye describes the term of culture as the language, beliefs, values and norms, customs, dress, diet, role, knowledge and skills. She also describe that culture is a way of life and that culture is passed on from one generation to the next through the process of socialization. This is very true because of culture is a way to define who I am and it’s a way of life. Bosma Kunnen also states â€Å" The relationships with one’s family are typically the first and individual experiences, thus providing a foundation for identity formation. For young teenagers, frequent accesses to the Internet or media are aspects which go towards constructing a person’s own personal identity. The open University support my statement about identity is formed in more than one category, it states, â€Å"By examining the requirements of the state, how a child views gender, and the importance of race or place of birth, you will start to understand how each individual can have more than one identity. The article start with the question what is identity? , It states, â€Å"If identity provides us with the means of answering the question ‘who am I? ’ it might appear to be about personality; the sort of person I am. That is only part of the story. † This is true, who am I? Is not a easy question to answer. We often describe ourselves by c hoosing or to identify with a particular identity or group. Identity involves in 1: a link between the personal and the social:, 2: some active engagement by those who take up identities, 3:being the same as some people and different from others, as indicated by symbols and representations, 4: a tension between how much control I have in constructing my identities and how much control or constraint is exercised over me. As a conclusion, we present ourselves to others through everyday interactions, through the way we speak and dress, marking ourselves as the same as those with whom we share an identity and different from those with whom we do not. 5) In other words identity could be formed in many ways that describe who you are such as your personality, culture and more. There have been changes in our lives, in the domestic arena, in the workplace, in our communities, which means who I am could change over our life depending on our experiences and more. Change has also created new opportunities for redefining ourselves, at home and in the work place and as members of different ethnicities.