How Does Your Culture Shape Your Identity

Everyday people are surrounded by culture. People grow up having ideas and customs that are seen as normal. When one culture wears revealing clothes and another keeps completely covered is a great example, on how your culture forms your identity. Growing up children are taught, to wear certain clothes and to do certain things. Children are not born with the sense to wear clothes; they do not understand why they have to wear clothing. With their parents teaching them the customs of their culture, these customs become the social norm for them and they do not know any better. This forms their identity, on what they are used to and what they will do in their life. A person growing up religious, will see it as normal to get up and go to church; however when someone grows up without religion in their life they do not have the sense of importance of religion. There are certain cultural ideas that permeate your entire experience. It has often been said the people in the East (China, Japan, Korea, etc.) think differently than people in the the West. In the East, there is more of an emphasis on collectivism and group unity. There are complex social games played to make sure that unity stays cohesive.

The sum collection of experiences make up your identity. For example, being Filipino-American, I grow up being taught to be generous to your friends and family, and that is a habit I carry with me. I also grew up with the experience of "trying to fit in" in a homogeneous world which was challenging at times. I remember other children explicitly pointing out that I was different. I had challenges with the English language and my accent. I had the experience of trying hard to fit in while maintaining my own identify. I dare so though it has made me quite an independent thinker! These are experiences that you don't get if you were the dominant ethnicity within a given