Identity Is Our Sense Of Identity Essay

"[I]magine culture as invisible webs composed of values, beliefs, ideas about appropriate behavior, and socially constructed truths" (Trumbell, 9). Everybody has a different background to correspond with how they see the world through their values, beliefs, and ideas. People act a certain way and dress a certain way because of their culture also. Someone's culture has a significant impact on the way they view themselves and others because cultural identity shapes not only how we make sense of our own experiences, but of our worldview as well.

Throughout childhood and young adulthood all of me was defined by my faith in Christ. My identities were determined by my belief system and the culture surrounding it; my Christianity defined my faith, gender, my orientation, my sexual expression, my cultural identity, and even my disabilities. Very few incidences shook this foundation and I was able to turn a blind eye or reject anything that conflicted with these set of beliefs until college. By the end of my first semester at Moorpark Community College my foundation was not only shaken, it was demolished in a blaze of glory along with all of my identities.

The ability to see the world as others do occurs only once. This is before the instance of any stimuli, any thought or experience; before the first breath. Culture is a foundation of beliefs and morals that are specific to one’s ethnicity. This is the distinct quality that everyone has based on their abstract views and varying backgrounds. The foundation of how people identify themselves and others is shaped by their experiences and interactions throughout life. Family and social norms are the two most prominent factors of how perception is influenced by culture.

Even if you have known a person for a long time, you will be astonished to know that they have different identities. Some people may be silent when they’re with you and be happy and talkative with their family. If you think hard enough about yourself, you can notice your different identities even if you think you only have one. It may take some time, but soon you will be able to recognize your different identities. I can recognize my different identities when I’m gaming, with friends, and at school.

Eckhart Tolle once said, “My sense of identity broke down and was replaced by something that is very hard to put not words.” Nwoye’s sense of identity was challenged with the introduction of Western ideas into the Ibo culture. Nwoye started out in the novel as different and as an outcast in his culture, but the cultural collision of the British colonists and Ibo people affected nwoye to the point of converting religions. The reasons for Nwoye’s change in his sense of identity include him being an outcast in his culture, his lack of confidence, and the new religions ‘saving’ and acceptance of Nwoye.

The Racial/Cultural Identity Development Model by Sue & Sue (2012), is an active example to understand clients’ attitudes and behaviors toward themselves and their culture as well as the culture of others. According to West-Olatunji, Frazier, Guy, Smith, Clay & Breaux (2007), “This model poses the following questions (Sue & Sue, 2003): (a) With whom do you identify and why? (b) What culturally diverse attitudes and beliefs do you accept or reject and why? (c) What dominant cultural attitudes and beliefs do you accept or reject and why? and (d) How do your current attitudes and beliefs affect your interaction with other culturally diverse clients and people of the dominant culture? Most important, this model allows for investigation of clients ' level of conformity and idealized identification with the dominant culture as well as their rejection of their own culture.”

Our identity is everything to us. It makes us who we are and how we act. It is our skin and our personality. Sometimes our identity can be put into question and ripped from us. In some cases, our identity could determine the rest of our lives. How we are treated and how we are accepted. In the shorts stories “Mirror Image” by Lena Coakley and “The pose” by Anwar Khan, the protagonists are having a difficult time understanding their identity and where they stand in society. In the beginning, the characters are put in a position where they are self-conscious of their own bodies. Eventually the further in the stories we see the characters more accepting of their bodies and their places in society. As a result, both begin to accept their identifies.

With existing schematization presenting a range of issues in society, Alcoff’s theory of ethnorace provides effective ways to resolve the issues present within it.

Identity comes from the Latin root idem (identitas) meaning the oneness or a state of being the same, and has been used in English since the sixteenth century. It has a technical meaning in algebra and logic and has been associated with the perennial mind-body problem in philosophy. The meaning of identity in this philosophical context is close to its meaning in ordinary usage, which is given as follows by the Oxford English Dictionary: the sameness of a person or thing at all times or in all circumstances; the condition or fact that a person or thing is itself and not something else; individuality, personality. Personal identity (in Psychology), is the condition or fact of remaining the same person throughout the various phases of existence;

Race and ethnicity are seen as form of an individual’s cultural identity. Researchers have linked the concept of “race” to the discourses of social Darwinism that in essence is a categorization of “types” of people, grouping them by biological and physical characteristics, most common one being skin pigmentation.

A culture is the beliefs of a life of a group of people, and the interactions they have with the world. Culture has been passed down from many generations and is still continuing today. Everyone has characteristics that show their background and certain culture. Culture is very important and should be taught as a valuable source in life. The importance of where you come from and the history of your ancestors is precious. Skin tone to the texture of your hair displays what type of culture you have been positioned in. Religious views to the language you speak helps people identify your culture. A person’s identity in society deals with their culture and how they interact with other individuals. The world is occupied by countless numbers of cultures, and as individuals are beliefs and customs are not always be fitting of someone else.

Race and ethnicity are used interchangeable by society but they are two very different things. One is used to describe science and the other sociology. Race describes physical characteristics and ethnicity describes culture characteristics. “Race is associated with biology, whereas ethnicity is associated with culture” (LiveScienceStaff, 2012).

Self-identity is defined as the recognition of one's potential and qualities as an individual, especially in relation to social context. In other words, self-understanding. Finding self-identity is more more difficult for some people than others. In the autobiography Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self by Rebecca Walker, the author reflects on her identity as a mixed raced individual which is illustrated through Walker’s reflections. People define themselves in many different ways. For instance, some define themselves by their talents, hobbies, race, religion, color, gender, culture, sexual orientation, and/or age. What is your identity?

Identity is social construct that many have mistaken for something an individual is born with. There are many aspects of identity that one can inherit like genes that can drive a certain type of character and certain aspects of identity a person can adopt and build for themselves. However the most part of one’s identity is consistent of what the person wants and adopts for themselves and what the society/the people around him/her choose to give him/her.

This world has been going through globalization for thousands of years. Just as the current globalization happening so as to the number of people migrating every year. Each year millions of people migrated from their country and relocate in a new place aside from their home country. There are different kind of reasons people are migrated from one place to another. Apart from immigrants, workers, marriages, and many other migrating groups of people, students known as international students are taking their education abroad.