Jackson Edwards
2/10/15
Professor Young
Discussion Question 1
English
Draft 3
I
Am Who I Am
“Identity is a prison
you can never escape, but the way to redeem your past is not to run from it,
but to try to understand it, and use it as a foundation to grow" (Jay-Z).
An identity can separate you from anyone on this planet. Meaning, with the opportunity
of having a unique and different quality can mold you into own your man or
woman which can make you stand out in society. Identity is important because it
gives a characteristic that no one else can have.
Fencing is my passion; it is a like drug I cannot get
enough of it! I have been fencing for seven years in the Peter Westbrook
Foundation at the Fencers Club in New York City, New York. With fencing I have
been given the opportunities to travel nationally and internationally. Fencing
makes up most of my Identity more than I personally believe because even though
it is my current passion in life, I still like to be tangled in to other
subjects or topics. Such as music and other different other sports like
football. Music is an important vessel that makes up my identity because it
will determine how I will mentally feel throughout the day. The faster and more
hardcore the beat the more it will make me much more willing to accomplish my
tasks throughout the day. Football made me who I am because I basically grew up
watching New York Giants football with my entire family. Everyone on my father
side of the family would all go to my uncle’s house in Union, New Jersey to
watch our favorite team play. There was always food provided which made me even
more excited to see my uncle since he is an outstanding cook. Now looking back
into the past family was an important reason why I truly love football because
we got together to watch something that we all loved and enjoy.
Now
some people will ask well "what makes up an identity Jackson?
There are a lot different resources that make up an identity such as beliefs, race, culture, origin, language, heritage, and behavioral attitude. The best part about an identity is that you are able to create who you really want to be. You are your own brand, and it’s your job to make sure that you embrace your differences and stand out.
There are a lot different resources that make up an identity such as beliefs, race, culture, origin, language, heritage, and behavioral attitude. The best part about an identity is that you are able to create who you really want to be. You are your own brand, and it’s your job to make sure that you embrace your differences and stand out.
In my opinion I think language is the most important resource in creating an identity; since language is able to revolve around other qualities like your culture, origin, race, and heritage.
In the reading of author Gloria Anzaldula’s
How to Tame a Wild Tongue she says
“Chicano Spanish sprang out of the Chicanos’ need to identify ourselves as
distinct people. We needed a language with which we could communicate with
ourselves, a secret language” (page 3, 4th paragraph). This quote
just proves how powerful a language is; not only are they using their races
language for a conversation but they found a secret language that can be used
to communicate in dire need for survival. If the Chicanos would have never
embraced their differences, having a popular commutative language would be very
hard. You will never know how beneficial
your identity is until you see what it can do for you and the people around
you.
In
How to Tame a Wild Tongue Gloria
Anzaldula says “If you want to be American, speak ‘American.’ If you don’t like
it, go back to Mexico where you belong” (page 2, 3rd paragraph).
Surprisingly this was Gloria’s TEACHER telling her this in school!
An adult whose job is to teach from a higher education is telling a little a little girl something like this. This is a prime example that proves why I believe you should never let anyone else change your culture, your origin, your IDENTITY. Being forced to live in a dystopian will not help human beings become who they want to become who they want to be, instead it will force them to become what people want them to be. Then the final result will just continue to push society backward instead of forward.
An adult whose job is to teach from a higher education is telling a little a little girl something like this. This is a prime example that proves why I believe you should never let anyone else change your culture, your origin, your IDENTITY. Being forced to live in a dystopian will not help human beings become who they want to become who they want to be, instead it will force them to become what people want them to be. Then the final result will just continue to push society backward instead of forward.
Work Cited:
Anzadula, Gloria. “How To Tame A Wild Tongue”. Borderland/La
Frontera, The New Mestiza. 1987.
