Dual Identities Essay

What is individualism? We know from intuitive self-awargonness that own(prenominal) identity operator exists. It happenms to be a fact of conscious life, as common as the excogitate I. But the real question is how to define it? I assimilate come to realize that at that place is no set definition on what makes an identity, so if my understanding is localise anything and e realthing give the gate make an identity. There is no wrong answer. It varies from individual to person. For example Andre Dubus, the author of Witnessmakes his identity expel through stories in which he shows his check. In his case having a disability is founder of his identity I can non stand or walk . . . I can non live as normals do.As for myself, I can relate, although not to the extent as Dubus, I can understand the anger that goes along with a disability. My disability is anemia, and while most people that suffer from anemia do not see anything other than minor side effects, I do. I am severely a nemic, and so it affects my e real(prenominal)day life. I cave in knock over getting up in the morning because I am alike tired, even afterward a good night sleep. I clear to take iron pills and I eat red meat or so every day. Furthermore, I have seen more doctors than I wish to flirt with and they all tell me the same thing youll grow out of it. Really, convey Doctor, youve been so helpful, I reply sarcastically. Few people know active my sickness, which I plan to keep that way. For some reason I odour that if umteen people knew slightly it they would feel bad for me, and could possibly withdraw I was weak, which is the last thing that I indispensableness.Part of my identity is organism strong and un-afraid, which is a difficult thing to pull off for a girl. Dave Barry the author of Guys vs. Men thinks that a chance of men give guys a bad name. Just like Barry I think that a deal of girls give females a bad name. Let me explain. I think that a skunk of girls are o verly dramatic, way too emotional, and acted dumber than they really are, for reasons that are very unclear to me. I know that I am supply into the stereotype, but some girls fit the stereotype too well to not comment on.I refuse to take guff from any mavin, unless I be it, and I speak what is on my mind. I have heard that I can be very threatening, but I do not intrust that I should refrain from speaking my mind when I see it necessary. In Keith Bradshers essay Reptile Dreams Clotaire Rapaille describes teens very well by commenting that They want to give the message, I want to be able to fight back, male parentt mess with me. Clotaire seems to sum up the thoughts of the American youth very well, or at least me. I think that I acquired that opinion of my identity from when I lived in Los Angeles. Zora Neal Hurston explains it well I unexpended Eatonville, as ZoraWhen I disembarked on the river boatShe was no more, in her essay How if feels to be Colored Me.She expressed e xactly how I felt when I travel to Sacramento. I felt like I wasnt myself anymore.When I lived in Los Angeles I positive an eclectic personality because I was friends with so many different types of people I took on other aspects of my personality. unluckily because I lived in LA I always had to have my guard up, im not sure how to explain it correctly other than, if you lived there you would understand. For the most part everyone had to fend for themselves, and if you werent able to do that than you were a follower of somebody who did. I later came to realize that ones sense of self, or ones identity is developed through, among other things, external influences including friends, family, and situations.Now looking back I can see where I have gotten my attitude. Im smart mouthed, sarcastic, and blunt. by dint of those traits I have also acquired nicknames. A recent nickname as of this summertime was, Ms. Attitude. This summer I went wake-boarding with some family friends, their f riends, and my best friend. So essentially it was my friend and I, and 7 guys. What I came to realize though this summer, is that most guys arent used to girls that talk back. Because I am very sarcastic the guys were very surprised, which is why I developed the nickname. They thought it was hilarious, and I was recently told by one of them that they miss my attitude, so I guess I left an impression. What is shocking to me though, is that I usually get that reaction from most guys, which leads me to believe that they have never met any girls from LA.I moved last summer before senior year to Granite Bay, and attended Granite Bay High aim my senior year. I moved from my mums house to my dads house, willingly, to avoid a lot of un-necessary drama. The move was quite unexpected for everyone but myself. I left because I came to realize that my friends were no longer my friends. Many of my friends had begun to do some very hard drugs, and so I no longer precious to be around them. I knew it was a bad environment, so I left. I have always been very independent and have never relied on anyone else to make decisions for me.I alone did what I thought was right, yet after sharing my story with a few new friends in Nor*Cal I witnessed a lot of jaw-dropping, everyone thought that it was such a big deal. My identity quickly developed, I was the girl from L.A. I valued that identity, I about felt like superman, I was Clark Kent when I was home in LA, and venereal infection when I was in Sacramento. I say Superman because a lot of people kind of looked at me like that, like I was invincible. I was like nothing any of them were used to. Other than being influenced from where one lives or lived, I believe that family can have a huge impact on ones identity.For instance, because I was brocaded by my mom, I morose out differently than if I was raised by my dad. If I was raised by my dad I think I would have move out much more emotionally detached, and much more indep endent. I say this because my dads a guy, he doesnt seem to care about anything other than himself and definitely shows no sign of emotion or feeling, that subject matter no hugs. If I was raised by him Im sure I would have had a job at thirteen and would probably be life sentence on my own now.But because I was raised by my mom I grew being very spoiled, because my mom believes that school is more substantial than work so I was never allowed to get a job. Unfortunately I grew up having everything handed to me. Which is good because I got everything that I wanted very easily, but bad because I got used to having everything handed to me. In addition, because I grew up living with my mom I became more compassionate and caring because thats what I was taught. I consider the way I was raised part of my identity, I grew up with very strong ties to my family and thats part of who I am.In conclusion, I believe that there is no one way to decipher where an identity can come from. So onc e again what is identity? humans are the only physical that can be aware of oneself, and so we are also the only animal to contemplate who we are, and why we are that way. Through this constant military commission of self discovery everyone seems to have an ever-changing view on their personal identity. It is a fact of conscious life, as common as the word I, to want to know who we are.I have come to realize that there is no set definition on what makes an identity, so if my understanding is correct anything and everything can make an identity. There is no wrong answer. It seems to vary from person to person and if any given event, person, action, etc, has effected someone greatly affluent it can become part of their identity, even unknowingly. For me writing this paper was a mission of self discovery, I have never really considered who I am other than the obvious. I now know who I am and why I am the way I am. To me that was the hardest thing to answer. why?