Personal Experiences With Identity Development - 1850 Words

Identity is a construct base on a person’s belief system, background, and personality. There are multiple parts to a person’s identity such as race, religion, gender expression, or sexual orientations to name a few. When we are born into this world some factors are inherited, while others we acquired over time. This paper aims to address my personal experiences with identity development and how each day I am learning how my privilege affects interactions in the world. The first factor of identity is the internal dimension. This includes the aspects of diversity we cannot control, but may change over time due to external factors. Age, race, ethnicity, physical ability, sexual orientation, and gender are all examples of internal†¦show more content†¦Growing up, I did not have an in-depth understanding of diversity. I could identify internal dimensions such as race and age, but did not fully comprehend how they intersect until college. Factors that influenced my w orldview were my identity, parent’s values, geographical location, and educational background. Being a white male, I was afforded many privileges and did not have to worry about the violence against the oppressed groups. I would define privilege as opportunities afforded to dominant populations. I was ignorant to the social injustices of the US, and would have been classified as a member of the â€Å"All Live Matter† campaign. The only major separation from the majority group I had was when people perceived I was gay. Because of this, I was bullied throughout junior high and early high school until I moved from Texas to Missouri. My social belonging was highly impacted by academics as I wanted to be a member of the high achieving group. I had always been academically strong and I knew those who were seen as successful were favored by the administration. Also, coming from a lower socioeconomic background, I wanted to find my place among students who were able to afford certain privileges. I remember we could not afford to order pizza unless it was a special occasion, but my friend owned a Domino’s so I would go over to their place to eat when I wanted pizza. These two events heavily impacted my interpretations of individual’s behaviors,Show MoreRelatedThe Importance Of The Personal Development For Citizenship Education1220 Words   |  5 PagesThe Importance of the Personal Development Purpose to Citizenship Education I believe there is an immense responsibility on a Social Studies teacher to develop good and responsible students who value their identity and citizenship. The Alberta Social Studies curriculum emphasizes that, â€Å"the dynamic relationship between citizenship and identity forms the basis for skills and learning outcomes in the program of studies† (Alberta Education 2005, p. 3). 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