Revised Identity vs. Personal Choice

Britney Collver
Professors Smith and Wells-Edwards
English 101
April 17th 2009

Identity vs. Personal Choices

In Reality, Identity is personal choice. Identity is who each individual portrays him/herself to be through personal choices and decisions, and that can be changed at any point. It is true that there are some characteristics that effect an identity that are not controllable by personal choice, but even those can easily be manipulated. Identity is based upon personal actions and reactions, how each man and woman presents him/herself and ultimately how the world identifies each person.

All individuals make their own personal choices and decisions. These decisions range from determining career paths, whether to go to college, to play sports, to get married, to live a small town life, or to live in a big city. It’s these decisions that truly define a person’s identity. If Sally Mae chooses to be a doctor, she will be viewed much differently by all those around her than if she had decided to be a stripper. This may seem only skin deep as Sally is the same person either way, but those decisions change how she ultimately lives her life. A person who has made the life-long goal of continual medical education and helping others as a doctor, has a much different mind set and life values than Sally, who has chosen to entertain others for a living. This may seem unfair, as Sally may have just not had the finances to continue education, and was left with seemingly no other choice, but even if this were the case, she could have chosen to be a waitress or work retail, potentially keeping the same morals as we would assume the doctor to have. The simple fact that stripping was her decision creates a much different identity to the world.

A person’s identity is also determined by how he/she (pronoun agreement) chooses to present him/herself. Some individuals have hobbies and passions that take up a large portion of their life, which causes others to identify them through those subjects. My boss, for example, is infatuated with the Oregon Ducks. He makes this so apparent that any time he is given a gifts, everyone gets him something associated with the Oregon ducks. Those around him immediately think of him when hearing of the Oregon Ducks, because he has chosen to make the Ducks such a large part of his life, and share this with the people in his life. He has decided that this love for the Ducks is a substantial part of who he is, and through that he has created an identity for himself, as viewed by those around him.

No matter whom a person is on the inside, identity is nothing more than how others view that person, based on what the person has allowed them to see. What the census doesn’t count, states that “Individuals may choose one identity for themselves, but others in society may make another choice for them. The black Indian child may think of himself as Indian, but if no one around him does, than he has run up against the limit of his own power to choose a racial identity” (pg. 67). Likewise, if an individual is a book worm but tells no one of this, it is not how people will see him/her, and therefore is not his/her identity to the world. If and individual chooses to seclude his/herself from the world, and move to the middle of the woods, or some place where no one will know they even exist, than he/she will ultimately have no identity to the rest of the world.

There is a strong opposing side to this argument, as there are certain uncontrollable factors that play a part in a person’s identity as well. Circumstances such as culture, race and family roots, for instance, do make up identifying factors in every person’s life, changing and having strong effects on visual identity. These factors, however, are only where a person comes from and how he/she entered the world. From there, anyone can make him/herself into whomever they decide to be. Some may choose to follow their culture with things such as religion and family beliefs, others may decide not to. It is every individual’s personal choice to make that part of his/her identity or not.

The “F word”, is a great story which demonstrates how easy it is to manipulate a characteristic an individual was born into, which does effect how others view them. The story follows the life of Firoozeh Dumas, who was born with a name and into a race which was not socially accepted while she was growing up. In order to change her identity, she changed her name to “Julie.” She states, “Because I spoke English without an accent and was known as Julie, people assumed I was American” (pg 62). She was suddenly accepted by her peers, even though they had not accepted her as Firoozeh. She chose to change the name she was born with, and that alone changed her identity to all those around her. Even though she was the same person inside, it gave her an entirely new identity, as she was now presenting herself in a different light. Changing her name also changed her life style, which affected her identity as well. She began changing her daily activities and socializing with people who otherwise wouldn’t have given her the time of day. Suddenly she was getting job offers that she would not have even been considered for previously. Everything around her drastically changed, and all because she chose to change her name, and in tern her identity to others.

There are clearly many factors which make up an individual’s identity. It is not easily distinguished and there is certainly not one determining characteristic. That is what is so great about an identity, it can be formulated and manipulated by almost anything, and is so unique that there will never be two alike. Each person in this world chooses how to live his/her life, and what to present to others about themselves. Even uncontrollable characteristics can be shaped and altered. An identity can be made into anything personally desired, and it is because of this that we are all so unique.