Sociology Identity Essays - , Term Papers

Sociology: Identity Identity-?Ones personal qualities.?Identiy is something only he or she can fully define. My uncle says I am affectionate,cheerful, and calm. My grandmother sees me as slim, pretty and sweet. My dad described me as perky, cheerful and happy, my mom says beautiful, gentle, and self-conscious. These adjectives describe me accurately, yet they are only abstract versions of me. Adjectives cannot begin to describe me and I aknowlege these descriptions for what they are, a condensed translation from my outward self to the world. It is impossible for anyone to understand me completely because nobody has experienced the things I have. My mother has never cherished a raggedy doll named Katie and my father never spent hours upon hours making collages and scrap books for his future children. My uncle never hid in the back of a pick-up-truck and traveled four hours to New York and my grandmother has never walked hours in the rain looking for the Queen of England. My identity is something only I c an define. Think of a stacking doll. Each outer doll removed reveals another; smaller and more volnerable than the previous. With each section combined there is a whole, but with only a section you cannot see the doll in it's entirety and it is impossible to see whether another is hiding inside. Ones identity is similar. With little knowlege of a person it is impossible to know what is inside and whether there is more to see. Identity is broader than one word definitions, different aspects such as feelings and memories contribute. In order to get the full sense of who a person is, the inner layers must be revealed. The outer layer is how people see me. ?Pretty? was an adjective my family and friends used to describe me. Pretty/?Pleasant to behold.? Though this phrase is not meant to be negative, It makes me feel like I am stupid and that my family couldn't think of adjectives indicating intelligence or creativity. Pleasant means enjoyable... agreeable... welcoming. When characterizing my identity I don't want ?pretty? to be the first word that pops into peoples minds. ?Pretty? says: dull and uninteresting. People in school know me, not because I score winning points in basketball games, or come in first in swim meets. People know me because I am supposedly ?good-looking.? Sometimes I feel like I don't have an identity aside from the way I look, and my definition of identify doesnt include appearance. I sometimes list the things that identify me. My strongest features are my ?different? hair and my ?clear skin.? People have often told me that I should be a ?hand model? or go into commmercialism because I have a ?unique smile? These compliments put a temporary smile on my face, but having clear skin does not make me feel good about myself. Having clear skin does not give me the confidence and self-assurance I need to be happy and accomplish my goals. But according to the majority of my friends and family:my looks are going to get me the farthest ? So I guess in a way my looks are my identity. The problem with characterizations and first impressions is that I don't give an accurate perseption of the real me. I often seem ditsy and spacy, and sometimes I act in a way that doesnt portray the real me, and that frustrates me beyond words. My friends call me ?bubbly,? ?silly,? and ?funny? trying to think of a way to say ditsy that wont hurt my feelings, and these traits aren't neccisarily bad. Atleast I have characteristics that make others happy and cheerful when they are around me. Maybe my identity is best summed up as spacy, ditsy, and distracted. ?Eventhough my grades arent wonderful, and I don't ride a horse six days of the week, atleast I have the amazing ability to understand everyones pain.? A year ago this sentiment was what kept me confident, but lately I have been struggling to believe my friends even like me. Somewhere between junior and senior year I have started analyzing my personality and trying to figure out who I am, and I'm not happy with what I have found. The problem isn't so