Identity By Julio Noboa Polanco

Looking back on the short 14 years of my life, I realize that my sense of identity and belonging has changed and will continue to change as I grow up. One’s concept of belonging can easily conform to when and where someone is. After all, this is what makes us, us. Coming to terms with who you are is a lengthy task, as well as a difficult one. Often, there are people that will tell you to just be like everyone else. It’s difficult to follow the whole “BE YOURSELF” ideology when no one likes individuality. Creating a sense of belonging is difficult when you are the individual that no one likes. Life just becomes so much harder when you try to label everyone them tell them where they belong. Identity and belonging go hand in hand. when you know

I dreamt of popularity and admiration. Little did I know how very, very wrong I was. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I have been fortunate enough to have created wonderful friendships that I think are superior to my childhood fantasies. It’s just that, the life I live today is not one people idealize. Most people like to imagine their future as bright and happy with little to no conflicts and just like everyone else’s life. In the poem “Identity” by Julio Noboa Polanco, the author illustrates this sort of ideology through plants. Comparing ‘perfect’ lives to “pleasant-smelling flowers growing in clusters”(15-16) and his life to “a tall, ugly weed clinging on cliffs.” (4-5). Personally, I relate to this. I have always been conscious of others and how their lives compare to mine. Although, there is a fact that grounds me. There is no one with the same personality as me because there is no one that has lived the same life as me. Therefore my life is unique and so is everyone

Many times, people will be put into small metaphorical boxes that are believed to hold all of the details of one’s life. For example, in the poem “I, Too, Sing America” by Langston Hughes, the author writes about a time of slavery or just the overall concept of oppression. “I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, but I laugh and eat well, and grow strong. Tomorrow...they’ll see how beautiful I am”(2-8,16). The author was alive in a time where the racism in America against the black community was very prevalent. This poem just really stuck with me. Hughes, despite all of the hate and discrimination against him, he had hope for a bright future. That is something that a label wouldn’t be able to