Mac Jeffrey
7 September 2015
English 1100
Prof. Young

Identity

 

     In the essay "How to Tame a Wild Tongue", Gloria Anzaldua talks about identity. What she

mainly focuses on is how much her unique Chicano language has shaped who she is. She had taken a lot of crap on her life because most people don't recognize her language and they assume it is incorrect. But after reading the essay, we know that this couldn't be further from the truth. Anzaldua shows us in her writing how important identity really is. She learned throughout her life to be true to herself and not to follow what other people think she should do. To me, identity is important because it distinguishes you from the crowd and makes you unique.      

 

       Identity should be something that nobody can take away from you. It is something that is yours alone and it is just a little bit different from person to person. All the time people say things like "they are exactly alike" or "you're just like him" when in reality, no two people in the world are exactly the same. Even two people who seem incredibly similar on the surface might be completely different on the inside. There are so many tiny qualities that make us up as human beings and they are different for everyone. This is why your identity is so important, because it is who you are in your heart and you should never try to be anything other than that.

 

       Everyone has their own unique personality. Part of having an identity is being able to let your personality shine through in whatever you do. If you constantly have to switch up who you are to impress everyone, I don't think you don't have a true identity. Of coarse, everyone has to put on a front from time to time to impress certain people, such as your boss or your parents. But if you change drastically with different groups that you hang out with, that isn't your real identity. Most people who do this are scared of what people will think about them, when in reality much more people would respect them if they were true to who they are.

      

      If you have your own identity, that means you know exactly who you are. If you know your identity, you will be a much happier person because you know what you want to do with yourself. It is definitely very impressive to see someone who knows their identity and doesn't change who they are to fit in or to try to impress people. I would say most people in the world try to change who they are to try to fit in to some degree, but the less you do that the more you will be respected. Also, people will look at you as a leader if they see that you have your own unique identity.

      The most important thing to remember about identity is that you need to own it. Be true to who you are and no one will be able to tell you to be a certain way.  The real reason that identity is important is because nothing makes a person more happy than knowing exactly who they are. So many people try to push you in a certain direction so it is important to be able to make your own decisions so you could have your own identity. Anzaldua could have listened to the people telling her that her language was incorrect, but she stayed true to herself and ended up writing a great essay that many people can learn from.