Developing My Identity

“Pay no mind to what other people say; whatever makes an individual happy is what he or she should do.” This quote comes from my grandmother, who tries her best to teach me about an individual’s personal identity. An individual’s identity represents who he or she truly is; it is something that allows a specific person to stand out from the crowd. During an individual’s life, he or she will come across many obstacles that will shape her or his being and will further shape her or him into someone with particular traits, or an identity. During my life, I grew up with six older siblings who each had voices and opinions quite different than mine. Although I felt different from everyone else, there was always one person who I related to, my grandmother. All throughout the years of growing up and going through changes, I always seemed to be filled with encouraging words of wisdom from my grandmother, and, most importantly, she was very accepting of the paths I had chosen to follow despite the fact that they were different from my family’s paths. Throughout the book The Norton Mix, which is an anthology of different texts, many aspects of identity are explored. The selection that I believe relates to me the most in this book is “Professions for Women” by Virginia Woolf, a 1931 speech about Woolf's work as a writer. Another text that I believe presents many characters with different identity aspects is the novel Hairstyles of the Damned, by Joe Meno; the novel is about a teenage boy searching for his identity. After analyzing both texts and listening attentively to my grandmother’s advice, I have concluded that everyone needs to understand that no two identities are alike, and individuals should follow their dreams no matter what...

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...gone through some of the hardest changes and adjustments that I thought could ever come my way. Even though I have more challenges awaiting me on my path to graduation, I still stand by my identity and have a positive attitude. I still give everyone a chance and never find myself being judgmental because someone is different from me. These aspects of identity have shaped who I am today and will make me a wonderful nurse. By examining Virginias Woolf’s speech, Ms. Aiken’s understanding ways, and my grandmother's kind words, you can clearly see why my aspects of identity include, but are not limited to, always following my dreams no matter what!

Works Cited

Meno, Joe. Hairstyles of the Damned. New York: Punk Planet-Akashic, 2004. Print.

Woolf, Virginia. “Professions for Women.” The Norton Mix. Ed. Beth Johnson. New York: Norton, 2011. 203-210. Print.