What is identity, and how does it affect one in their everyday life? Identity is who one is characterized by their actions and personality. One’s identity is affected by their family, friends and environment, as they influence one’s life every day. Identity can be very influential on a person’s life, as it can shape their future. There are multiple types of identity, such as personal identity, cultural identity, and social identity. By exploring and researching each type of identity and the forces that affect them, one can gain a clearer view of their identity as a whole.

What one thinks of themselves, along with their treatment of themselves and their actions, are the foundation for personal identity. I have an average intelligence level, I am no intellect, the only subjects I can possibly excel in are mathematics and science. This is because two of my uncles are extremely gifted in the fields of math and science and the try to pass the gift on to me. Their influence has also affected my choice in occupation, as when I am fully grown, hope to be a bio-mechanical engineer. I am also extremely interested in paradoxes. Paradoxes are quite enjoyable as they help clear my mind of any hindrances and replace them with confusion mixed with understanding. My liking of paradoxes is probably due to my good friend, Brennan Harris. He at times was an enigma in both his speech and external appearance. Once I was able to solve his puzzles and actually argue facts with him, I needed new puzzles, thus turning me to paradoxes. All in all, I am quite an average person, much like Biff Brannon from The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Biff lead a very average life, he never did anything extraordinary or dull. Biff also pretty much just stood behind his counter not really talking much. Biff also enjoyed crossword puzzle, probably because they posed a challenge to his mind that others could no longer give to him.

Cultural identity is your background in its entirety, ranging from family background, to religious background, to educational background. Family background can determine how one acts and how one treats others, religious background can often give or take away faith in dire situations, and educational background can make or break one’s shot at a great occupation. I come from a family of Indian immigrants. I do not have strong relationships with my family members, me and my father are constantly arguing, then my mother gets involved and takes my father’s side, all the while my grandmother is singing bhagans in the background, while my brother watches TV. My family is very religious, they believe in the concepts portrayed in Hinduism. In comparison to my family, I can be labeled somewhat Anti-Hindu. This is because I go against a lot of Indian values, such as eating beef. My reasoning for eating beef is that seeing as how I live in America and that I am an American citizen, I should be allowed to be involved in American culture, which includes hamburgers and steak. This reasoning was in fact given to me by my mother, as she felt that I shouldn’t be forced to not eat beef, as it would be inevitable that I would one day consume it. I also eat meats (other than beef) on religious holidays, most of this is unintentional, but not always. This is because my family forced Hinduism onto me so much and they kept pushing the limitations of my temper so that I could be a very religious child. Because they pushed me so hard towards it I drifted away from Hinduism and my family, and found refuge alone.  My family also believes in a strong education, everyone in my family is well educated. This causes them to have high expectations of me. However, I may not always live up to these expectations as I do not always take my school work seriously. In this sense, I can relate to Mick. Mick did not have strong relationships with the members of her family. She would also often contradict many of their beliefs and values. Mick also had much expected of her, causing her to make many sacrifices.

A person’s behavior among others can be classified as social identity. I am somewhat anti-social. I will not talk to people unless I know them well. This poses a paradox of my mentality. I will not talk to people I do not know well, however I cannot know someone well unless I talk to them. I also have extreme stage fright. I do not enjoy being under the spotlight when the stakes are high. When such an event happens, I choke. For example in the guitar hero competition, my legs were shaking crazily, my hand was frozen for 2.5 seconds, and I was freaking out. My stage fright is probably caused by my fourth grade teacher, Ms. Francis. She made me feel stupid, as while all the other kids were playing; I was forced to write a factual story which she would harshly criticize. This caused me to become very aware of what I am doing, as people might think I am dumb. In this sense I am much like Biff. Biff doesn’t really talk to people much; he just stays behind his counter. He enjoys being somewhat alone, but still requires a friendly presence around.

All of the three types of identity, Personal, Cultural, and Social, shape the overall nature of a person. Identity shapes the way one acts, both internally (self) and externally (others). Without identity, everyone would have the exact same mentalities, and there would be no uniqueness in the world. Identity can be considered the foundation of American society. For this, we must respect individual identities, and accept them, as our identities, are us.