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A person's identity cannot be defined by one factor alone. It is woven by experiences, the culture around the person, the people they surround themselves with, the climate they are in, and their own personal view of the world and themselves.

Self-portraits by David Bowie
"Las Dos Fridas" by Frida Kahlo
“Artist Frida Kahlo Transcended Suffering through Art.” by Renee Phillips
Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

I used one of David Bowie's paintings showing how what people see on the outside isn't a good judge of what a persons personality is on the inside, especially celebrities. It shows how Bowie's personality was shaped around the people around him and his life in stardom. It also showed his view of himself instead of just the bright rock star.

I used different aspects of Frida Kahlo's life experiences to show how they shaped her. Frida Kahlo was diagnosed with Polio when she was younger and was in a bus crash that left her with life long injuries, but she was able to express that through her art. Her art is always depicted with pictures of herself and allows her to paint herself into a picture of who she is, similar to David Bowie.

I used Still I Rise by Maya Angelou and the quote, “You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies, you may trod me in the very dirt but still, like dust, I'll rise” (Angelo).  This displays her persistence towards overcoming hardship and adversity. No matter how many times she gets knocked down by racism or sexism, she will get back up and keep fighting to be who she was. This is how she became who she was. It was not only the things that happened to her but the people around her that aided in her finding who she was and how she responded to her environment.

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The examined sources suggest that change, or experience, as well as our struggles and our triumphs, contribute to the way we form our identities. What we experience is a large part of how we behave and what defines our sense of self.

"Self Portraits"- Willam Utermohlen
"Still I Rise"- Maya Angleou
"the Pattern"- The Narcissist Cookbook

All of the above sources represent a key shift in the person's life, Angelou's trauma, Utermohlen's diagnoses, and the shift into adulthood described by the Narcissist Cookbook. They represent large events in which a person either rises to face the challenge, or succumbs to the pressure, and depicts how their sense of self is forever altered by the way they respond.

Maya Angelou's trauma helped make her the human she is today, despite the pain she went through, and helped her discover her own strength.

Utermohlen's life and outlook was visibly changed by Alzheimer's, and the audience can see how it darkened his horizons through his marks on paper.

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Experiences in life are what will influence the way we think and ultimately the choices we make, which are what make up our identity. 

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Experiences in life are what will influence the way we think and ultimately the choices we make, which are what make up our identity. 

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The poem "Knock Knock"  by Daniel Beaty is about a boy whose father is taken to jail early in life. At the end of the poem the father tells his son in a letter that he should take what he learned and his few experiences with his father to make a life that is better than what he had.

The song "Cat's in the Cradle" by Henry Chapin (my choice source) gives another perspective on this. It talks about a father who is distant from his son because of work and other aspects of adult life, but when he grows older and tries to reach out to his son he has trouble connecting with his son again for the same reasons. His son had become distant like he had because of his experiences with his own father and seeing that as the choice to make.

The poem "a song in the front yard" by Gwendylyn Brooks is about a girl who is stuck in the "front yard" (what her mother sees of the good sides of life), but longs to experience the less beautiful "back yard". She longs to create new experiences out side of the "front yard". She doesn't care what other people think of those in the "back yard" because many are still building their identities.

All of these sources show a different yet shared perspective of different experiences influencing people in different ways, and ultimately building up their unique identity and person.

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The key to becoming ourselves, is having inner confidence.

"Identity" by Julio Noboa
He states that even though he would be a “ugly” weed, he still has his confidence and is able to describe himself as “strong”, and “free”. Having the confidence to allow yourself to be unaffected by others', and allowing your own self perception to shine through, is so important.

"Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou
Even with all the doubt, and misjudgment of others, Angelou is still able to rise above all and be herself no matter what. She doesn't lose herself under all the hate others will throw at her.

"A Song in The Front Yard"
She wants to find herself, knowing she must do so by gaining the confidence she wishes to have. Describing something with the word “brave”, shows that confidence should be involved, if not, necessary.

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People being able to have the chance to be able to make their own identity, without the influence of others, is what is truly special about it.
1. “I’ve stayed in the front yard all my life; I want a peek at the back; Where it’s rough and untended and hungry weed grows; A girl gets sick of a rose” (Brook).
Brook writes about how it was harder for her to create her own identity because people around her were so restricting to what she could do growing up, and it didn't allow her to try new things and to learn about herself.
2. “They flash upon that inward eye; Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills; And dances with the daffodils" (Wordsworth).
Wordsworth writes about how he finds peace in his own mind, and how he can find his own identity through the solitude while being by himself.
3. The Council in Chelsea's mind in the video, "Questionable", is the internal struggle of her trying to figure out her own identity without others around her influencing her.

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The greatest factor in developing one's identity is recognizing what makes you unique from everyone else.

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The greatest factor in developing one's identity is recognizing what makes you unique from everyone else.

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“Questionable” by Chelsea Eisen - This source connects to my claim because the main character was trying to fit into certain labels. After she realized that she didn't have to be like everyone else and have a specific label
“A Mix of Many Things” by Alyssa Murray - this talks about that each person is made up of different things, and that each of these things make a person unique no matter if they are good or bad
Mari Andrews' Identity Wheel- On her identity wheel she put broad topics but in those topics other people can have very different answers, and by realizing this each person can create their own identity

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Claim: We build our identity through our different life experiences and what we learned from each of them.

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Claim: We build our identity through our different life experiences and what we learned from each of them.

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“Let’s try again, now that I know myself better”(Andrews).
“Leaving behind nights of terror and fear. I rise. Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear. I rise” (Angelou)
“It's hard to believe that there's nobody out there. It's hard to believe that I'm all alone. At least I have her love, the city, she loves me” (Kiedes)

Each experience we encounter will shape our thoughts and beliefs and that will allow us to build our own identity. Looking back into the past we can gain a better understanding of ourselves. We build our own identity though our individual experiences and we are able to find the qualities that set us apart from the rest of society.

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Difficult circumstances, and how one chooses to handle them and deal with them, are the greatest factor in developing one’s identity.

"Still I Rise" Maya Angelou
"a song in the front yard" Gwendolyn Brooks
"Mother to Son" Langston Hughes

Each source talks about how they have had to deal with struggles in their lives. But no matter what happens, they stress the importance of pushing forward. What makes these people unique and who they are, is not only their past experiences, but how they deal with them.

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Someone's identity is most influenced by what they experience in their life and how they perceive and use that experience to become who they are.
"A song in the front yard" By Gwendylyn Brooks
"Questionable" By Chelsea Eisen
"Still I Rise" By Maya Angelou

In each of theses sources the reader and viewer is able to see how the person in the sources has changed because of the experience they went through. The way that they each perceive what is happening or happened to them was a great factor in shaping themselves.

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The experiences someone faces throughout their lives and how they handle it shape their identity and the person they become.

"Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou
I connected the background information we had about Maya Angelou's experiences to how it shaped her to become a stronger person.

"A Song in the Front Yard" by Gwendolyn Brooks
I made a connection to how the author grew up one way but was always wishing she had this other life and how that experience shaped them.

"Under the Bridge" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
I connected one of the lyrics talking about how the songwriter never wanted to go back to this day and how whatever experience they lived shaped his identity.

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If you spend all your time trying to find your identity based on other people’s expectations and the things that happened to you in the past, then it’s not really your identity.

My sources included Still I Rise, by Maya Angelou, A Song In the Front Yard, by Gwendolyn Brooks, and "Questionable", by Chelsea Eisen.

Angelou's poem talks about not losing her strength and who she is just because others think she shouldn't be so happy after all she went through.

Brooks's poem addresses wanting to be free and dangerous like other people, except her mom holds her back by giving her all these rules on what to do and how to act.

And lastly we have Eisen's short film that shows the frustration it is trying to define yourself based on past actions, and on something that other people will be happy with for you.

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One's identity can be created from the sense of purpose granted by overcoming adversity and embracing who you are now.

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One's identity can be created from the sense of purpose granted by overcoming adversity and embracing who you are now.

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I used my choice source, Knock Knock by Daniel Beaty, and Still I Rise by Maya Angelou to show that you have the freedom to create your identity and that you can choose who and what you want to be. Someone else can not decide your identity for you.

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The environment someone grows up in has one of, if not the biggest influence on a person’s overall identity. I used Under the Bridge by the Red Hot Chili Peppers which talks about struggling with addiction in LA. I also used Peaches by Adrienne Su which talks about how isolating it is to grow up in an environment where you are the outsider. And lastly I used Mari Andrews Identity Wheel which displays how growing up in such a digital environment really impacts who you are.

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Identity is everything life has handed to you and what you decide to make of it. 

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Identity is everything life has handed to you and what you decide to make of it. 

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1. "Countless die with hearts full of wishes, minds full of stories, and hands full of talent" (J.A.).
2. In an anonymous poem by J.A. the author emphasizes that so many die with regrets and lost potential, but you still have time to change that so move.
3. "If life gives you lemons, you make lemonade" (My Grandma).

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...things around you affect your identity and the way you think of yourself. whether it be your location, people, or something else...

i used lyrics from johnny cash's "hurt"
which, to me, is about him losing things around him, which causes him to lose himself.

some description from "questionable", in which she's judging her character because she feels she doesn't fit in with others because they have more prominent traits.

and from the source of my choosing, which was a song about a woman judging herself by comparing herself to others around her.

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My claim was that Identity is primarily composed of our past experiences, our current actions, and our handling of such events.
My sources connect to this claim as every single one was the product of either the author's handling of such events, a recountment of their past actions, or their current actions in light of such things. This, therefore, means that the identity they've demonstrated through their writing is a product of any or all of those aspects.

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The most significant factor in developing an individual’s identity is the individual themselves.

“Identity” by Elizabeth Jennings
“Knock Knock” by Daniel Beaty
“Questionable” by Chelsea Eisen

The only component necessary to create an identity is the strong and unaffected mind of the individual in whom the identity will reside. The lonesome path to forming one’s identity may be extended and challenging, but that journey to self-discovery is essential to confirming one’s true identity. An individual’s true identity will arise when the time is right, and that identity will combine all of that person’s principles, admirations, and beliefs.

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The greatest factor that goes into developing one’s identity is personal experiences with little to no guidance or influence where they are taught if their decision was beneficial or bad.

I used “a song in the front yard” Gwendolyn Brooks which helped explain how without experience outside of your bubble you cannot grow your identity.
I used "Self Portraits" by David Bowie to show even with the influence to show his identity to the public and the media when he did a self portrait it shows that was not how he felt about himself.