Identity is multifaceted. There are many factors that contribute to the construction of an individual’s identity. The largest factors that contribute to an individual’s identity are their past, the people they interact with, and their flaws. A person’s past plays a major role in the construction of individual identity. Their experiences are crucial to shaping their identity. For example, in the TED Talk “How the worst moments in our lives make us who we are,” by Andrew Solomon.
I survived that childhood through a mix of avoidance and endurance. What I didn’t know then, and do know now, is that avoidance and endurance can be the entryway to forging meaning. After you’ve forged meaning, you need to incorporate that meaning into a new identity. You need to take the traumas and make them part of who you’ve come to be, and you need to fold the worst events of your life into a narrative of triumph, evincing a better self in response to things that hurt. (2:38).
People will often talk about past experiences when describing themselves. The past influences how a person behaves and how they will react to future events. A person’s experiences are fundamental to shaping their identity. A person’s past influences who they are. For example, in the article “Where Does Identity Come From?” by Jason Castro, Castro reflects upon the past’s influence on an individual’s identity.
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Imagine we rewound the tape of your life. Your diplomas are pulled off of walls, unframed and returned. Your children grow smaller, and then vanish. Soon you too become smaller. Your adult teeth retract, your baby teeth return and your traits and foibles start to slip away. Once language goes, you are not so much you as potential you. (1).
A person’s experiences are important in influencing who they are. If something different happened in the past, it change an individual’s personality and identity. The experiences of the past shape an individual, and if time were to rewind, they could potentially become another person. People are shaped by their past but there is more to an identity than the past.
Interactions and relationships with other people also have a major impact on discovering an identity. Imitating other people can help a person learn more about themselves. For example, Hetain Patel in the TED Talk “Who Am I?” claims that he learns more about himself each time he tries to become someone else.
Okay. So this imitation business does come with risk. It doesn’t always go as you plan it, even with a talented translator. But I am going to stick with it, because contrary to what we might usually assume, imitating somebody can reveal something unique. So every time I fail to become more like my father, I become more like myself. Every time I fail to become Bruce Lee, I become more authentically me. (7:42).
Imitating other people can help an individual figure out many things, such as whether or not they like something. An individual might discover that they have a talent for something that they might not have discovered otherwise. People also associate themselves with other people when explaining their identity. For example, in the article “The Need for a Sense of Identity- Changing Minds,” the author claims.
When asked about yourself, you may well describe yourself in terms of your work and family relationships: ‘I work for AB Corporation.’ or ‘I am married to Steve and have three children.’ Some people put a greater emphasis on group identity. In effect, their sense of identity is created through taking a part of everyone with who they bond and adding it to their own sense of self. In this way, our self becomes a complex, multiple, social being. (2).
A person may describe their identity by talking about other people, and how those people are related or relevant to them. People also have a tendency to absorb the morals of people who they associate with. Parents recognize this too, and because of this, they do not want their children “hanging out with the wrong crowd.” People are influenced by other people.
People have flaws in their identities and these flaws are a defining part of their identity. For example, Tavi Gevinson, in her TED Talk “A teen just trying to figure it out” says that to make a strong female character, one who does not have a “flat” or “one-dimensional” identity, the character must have flaws. “So the flaws are the key. I’m not the first person to say this. What makes a strong female character is a character who has weaknesses, who has flaws, who is maybe not immediately likable, but eventually relatable.” (Gevinson 1:47).
Having flaws can help people relate with other people, because everyone is flawed in some way. Being perfect would be boring, because there would be little to nothing for to people to look forward to. They would not be able to strive to improve, because there would be no need for them to improve. People have flaws in their personality, and these flaws contradict with other parts of their personality often, helping people to realize ways to improve. For example, in the article”The Need for a sense of Identity – Changing Minds,” the author claims
“We like to think we’re perfect. In fact we’re not that great, and regularly break our values (Are you law-abiding? Yes? So when did you last exceed the speed limit? Are you thoughtful and kind? So when did you last criticize a friend?). In practice, we manage to mentally separate these two personas. When they are forced together, we instantly find justification and excuse for our misdemeanors. (3).
When a person realizes that they have contradicted themselves, they probably will not want to contradict themselves again. In order to prevent themselves from contradicting themselves again, they probably will change their behavior. Having flaws in a person is important, because it helps them build their identity, and can help them connect with other people. There are many parts to identity.
The most important parts that contribute to an identity are a person’s past, their relationships, and their flaws. People discover more about themselves the more they think about their past, their relationships and their flaws. While these are important parts of an individual’s personality, it is lso important to think about other things that could contribute to identity when trying to find out more about oneself.
