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How does family affect your identity essay
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The way a person behaves is a reflection of how and where they were raised. From birth, we are taught to behave a certain way and have certain family expectations that we must meet that will then play a key role in shaping our identity. But family is not the only factor that influences identity, friends and environment help shape our identity too. Family, friends and environment help shape our identity greatly from the beginning of life up till adulthood. You spend a great time of your life with family who then influences your identity from the beginning of your life. From the beginning, we are given a set of expectations and values, which are learned from our guardians. We learn not only through these guardians guiding us, but we also learn by life’s examples and observing. As we grow older and mature we more easily understand the importance of values and know what is expected from us. And because we spend a lot of our lives around our family they are the primary influences to social identity, religion, confidence and many more. For example manners are usually taught in households at a young age by guardians, which influences identity positively. Family also influences good things like professionalism and confidence which will come in hand later on in …show more content…
Growing up in a healthy family, a child is encouraged to be more independent and are able to discover the world on their own, contributing to one’s uniqueness. In the article, How family impacts self esteem by S. Renee Smith, she states that “When parents appreciate their children and guide them toward their strengths, their children naturally develop healthy self-esteem and confidence.” Meaning that when a child is praised for their good actions, they will gain a good self esteem and will therefore keep on wanting to do these good deeds. Proving that with family, you will gain necessary traits that will help shape your
Family defines people making them who they are. A person's family heritage, how their parents met and married, their parents’ occupations, their siblings, and their early lives play an important role in who they are and who they become. Every family is different and has different characteristics and members, but those differences are what make every family unique. Those differences combined with my family members’ experiences and the stories they have chosen to share are what makes this story exclusive to my family.
What do you see when you walk down your high school hallway? Many people will notice cliques, couples, and reclusive beings hidden behind their binder-occupied arms. Where do you fit in society? Are you the judging or the judged, the observer or the observed, or are you exactly who you want to be? Our culture has become increasingly commercialized, the influence of the media on people's identities and how they perceive themselves has become a tremendous force. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote more than 150 years ago, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” As I further describe Emerson's statement, I will explain how qualities, credulousness, and freedom are vital structures
When thinking about Identity, it might be easy to just say that is “who we are”, or it’s just me. An identity is much more than that though. I like to think of it as a living puzzle. There are hundreds or thousands of pieces that come together to form the complete identity, or the complete “you”. I say living because an identity grows throughout the years and even changes depending on the situation. There is a multitude of influences that goes into forming a person’s identity some of which a person chooses and others they don’t. Family members and guardians are a primary source of learning when a child is young. As a person grows, the sphere of influence broadens to include mentors, media, and school. This identity is then a lens through which
In today’s society, the identities of ourselves and others control most of our thoughts and sometimes our actions. These ideas that people have created in which people of a certain gender, race, religion, economic class, etc. can only do certain things that they believe is meant for them. This thought process has ultimately damaged society and the people within it because it not only has created this illusion that a person can only do a certain thing but makes people lose hope and faith in themselves. The mindset that most people have nowadays is filled with what others are going to think or say about them. Our society has made us scared to do the things we truly want because we worry about our identity and how we will be able to do something while having that identity. How are we as a society
In today's world, society creates an impact on human life. More of an impact can be seen among family and peers. They can be found at home, work, and school. At home with family, identity can be created on the difference of having one parent, divorced or separated parents, no parents, abusive parents, or even negligent parents. For example, children who grow up without a father or mother figure tend to become more independent at an early stage. Another example is where certain experiences within the family such as constantly witnessing parents argue can cause one's identity to be confined and distant. But, some people shape their identity similar to their parents. Such as a son became a soldier in the army because his father was in the army. Siblings, if any, are also an influence on the social identity of a person. They either become your friend, mentor, or you...
Biological influences combined with societal and social expectations contribute to how well people learn to adapt to their environments (2013). According to Erikson, there are eight stages of development. Within these states, there are different psychological, emotional and cognitive tasks. In order to adjust, individuals must learn to develop these tasks. During adolescence, Erikson states that each person needs to navigate through the development task of ‘‘Identity vs. Identity confusion ’’ (2013). He defined this task by stating that adolescent children must learn to develop a sense of self and establish independence. Prior to this stage of development, a person’s parents largely influence their identity. In this stage the adolescent children begin to explore and develop their identity outside of their parents’ influence (Hill, Bromell, Tyson, & Flint, 2007). Adolescents are generally more egocentric at this stage and have an increased sense of self-consciousness. They also have a strong desire to conform to peer influence and develop concerns regarding their appearance. They develop concern about their level of competence in relation to their peer group as well. As peer influence increases, during this stage, parental influence decreases (Ashford & LeCroy, 2013; Hill et. al, 2007). Conflict generally increases between parent and child at this stage of development (2007).
This talks about how family is agent of socialization through childhood, race and class. How this relates to my social group is that my parents have always taught me and my siblings that in order to achieve success you must work hard by studying and doing well in school. It also plays a role in my social group because my family come from Nigeria, where parents strive for their children to be successful and to have a good education. Even though we are of the lower middle class, my parents still expect for us to be successful in life, because they do not want us to have the type of lives that they
The purpose of this paper is to try and explain how outside influences help and sometimes hinder your development as a person. Influences such as family, media, and individual peer groups have a great impact on the particular type of person you will become. Socialization does not stop when you reach a certain age, but is a lifelong process which helps us become aware of one’s self identity.
A person’s identity is shaped by many different aspects. Family, culture, friends, personal interests and surrounding environments are all factors that tend to help shape a person’s identity. Some factors may have more of an influence than others and some may not have any influence at all. As a person grows up in a family, they are influenced by many aspects of their life. Family and culture may influence a person’s sense of responsibilities, ethics and morals, tastes in music, humor and sports, and many other aspects of life. Friends and surrounding environments may influence a person’s taste in clothing, music, speech, and social activities. Personal interests are what truly set individuals apart. An individual is not a puppet on the string of their puppet-master, nor a chess piece on their master’s game board, individuals choose their own paths in life. They accomplish, or strive to accomplish, goals that they have set for themselves throughout their lifetime. Individuals are different from any other individual in the world because they live their own life rather than following a crowd of puppets. A person’s identity is defined by what shaped it in the first place, why they chose to be who they are, and what makes them different from everybody else in the world. I feel that I have developed most of my identity from my own dreams, fantasies, friends, and idols.
Self-esteem is a personality trait that describes a person’s stable overall perception of personal value or self-worth. This is essential to human growth as it affects relationships, a person’s ability to work, and nearly all parts of life. Children’s development of positive self-esteem is extremely important as it allows for character building such as giving the child the chance to improve on mistakes without fearing rejection from peers. Parents have an extensive role in developing children’s self-esteem due to the limited number of outside factors that could affect a child’s opinions and self-evaluation. Through supportive and motivational parenting a child can develop a high self-esteem that causes them to be more successful
Family has played an intricate role in the development of the society in which we live. The diversity in which families are formed is now becoming even more diverse with the American culture, which is changing at a rapid pace. Diverse cultures coupled with social economic challenges are key contributors to the dramatic change to the institution of family. With these challenges facing the institution of family, this closely tightknit unit which has been the cornerstone of American society has diminishing from a traditional standpoint. Non-kinship family networks like the one described in Karen V. Hansen’s “The Cranes, An Absorbent Safety Net,” goes against the norm of the common institution of family within America. Although the Crane family
The word “family” is often used in connection with a person’s ancestry. Most families are based on kinship. Members belong to the family through birth, marriage, or adoption. Family plays the most vital role in our daily life and family is the finest thing that you can ever desire for. It’s the family who assists their child in hardships of life and give affection no matter what happens. Human personality reflects on what his /her family status is and what their families have taught them.
The events of your childhood can also have a great effect on your personal identity. Even if you have a fairly nondescript childhood little things that you used to do can have a great impact on how you view yourself. Whether it be a friend or family member who introduces you to something that later on defines you or just the way that people treat you as a child and adolescent the things that you
As a person grows up in a family, they are influenced by many aspects of their life. Family and culture may influence a person’s sense of responsibilities, ethics and morals, tastes in music, humor and sports, and many other aspects of life. “What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself.” (Abraham Maslow)
The social institution I have chosen to address is that of family. An individual’s family life, both past and present, can have such a big impact on a person’s life in both a positive and negative manner. It is how we as individuals chose to handle life changing situations that will shape our lives and those around us. Family is such a fascinating social institution to study because every individual comes from a different family background or has a different experience than that of a sibling. You can learn so many things about a person by looking into their family background, origin and what type of up brining they had.