“Identit[ies] cannot be found or fabricated, but they emerge from within when someone has the courage to let go” (Cooper). A person’s identity is unique to themselves, and it defines who or what a person is, and the qualities that make them who they are. Identities are shaped by an individual’s personal experiences, outside sources, their upbringing, and by role models.
In The Other Wes Moore, two boys living across the street from each other have very different outcomes in life. For example, when Wes was young, he pulled pranks in school and didn’t get good grades. His mother sent him away to Valley Forge, a military school. At the school, he was set straight by his officers. This had a big influence on his identity because he started getting better grades which allowed him to join the military and be accepted into Johns Hopkins University. The other Wes Moore chose a life of drug dealing and robbery which ended up sending him to prison for the rest of his life. Because of the choices that each of the two men made, their lives ended up being very different from each other. …show more content…
A person’s identity can be shaped by “[their] name[,] a crucial factor in developing [their] sense of self, and [it] helps propel [them] forward on various paths of life and career” (Hendrick). Our name can give us different stereotypes and characteristics. For example, a person that is named Hercules is perceived to be big and strong, which is not always the case. Names are essential to our identities because they are unique. Unique identities are slowly fading because of technology. Technology can shape our identities through popular culture. It influences our thoughts on fashion, our beliefs, and many other things. Sources other than experiences can have just as great of an effect on your
In The Other Wes Moore, two boys living across the street from each other have very different outcomes in life. For example, when Wes was young, he pulled pranks in school and didn’t get good grades. His mother sent him away to Valley Forge, a military school. At the school, he was set straight by his officers. This had a big influence on his identity because he started getting better grades which allowed him to join the military and be accepted into Johns Hopkins University. The other Wes Moore chose a life of drug dealing and robbery which ended up sending him to prison for the rest of his life. Because of the choices that each of the two men made, their lives ended up being very different from each other. …show more content…
A person’s identity can be shaped by “[their] name[,] a crucial factor in developing [their] sense of self, and [it] helps propel [them] forward on various paths of life and career” (Hendrick). Our name can give us different stereotypes and characteristics. For example, a person that is named Hercules is perceived to be big and strong, which is not always the case. Names are essential to our identities because they are unique. Unique identities are slowly fading because of technology. Technology can shape our identities through popular culture. It influences our thoughts on fashion, our beliefs, and many other things. Sources other than experiences can have just as great of an effect on your