What Identity Means to Me

Hanan Saadah

English 1100

Professor Young

2015, September 2^nd

What Identity Means to Me

Gloria Anzaldua stands by her language as the biggest part of her identity. Her consistent pride in the article, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” is something I deeply respect. Gloria says “I am my language” and “Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself” showing how much she holds her native tongue to her heart. This made think about how I identify myself and what identity means to me. To me, identity is how I want to be seen and represented as when I walk into a room; whether it's my style or the way I hold myself up. I believe that first impression is so important, but that does not mean you should try to be something you're not. Be exactly who you are and stand up for it. Identity is what makes you unique; separates you from everyone else. Your identity is what makes you special. There cannot be more than one you in this world. If someone is different, or just seen different to you, it does not mean you can control them and force them to be someone they are not. This attack “on one's form of expression with the intent to sensor” is “a violation of the First Amendment”. It is cruel to try and Americanize a person and make them “fit in” to what is accepted. I find this similar to my situation in my town of Wayne, New Jersey with a majority of white people. When I moved there in 2003, I was immediately always stared at as the “different” looking girl. I felt so left out when people would do this to me so I tried to act completely different than who I actually was. I started to lose myself, but soon enough I realized what was happening to me. As soon as I noticed what I had been doing, I reverted back to myself, how I acted, how I dressed, and how I talked. It didn't take long for some people to leave me when they didn't like the fact that I was too different. But, then I discovered new people came into my life who accepted me for who I was and learned to love how I identified myself.

Works Cited

Anzaldua, Gloria. How to Tame a Wild Tongue." Teaching Developmental Writing. Ed. Susan                Naomi Bernstein. Fourth ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. 245-255. Print.