Identity

Jane Owusu
9/3/15
Prof. Young
Engw 1100

Identity to Me

In class we discussed about identity and how it is the distinct characteristics that define you as a unique individual as well as from the perception of other people. Identity to me is who I am as a person. The are many things that describe me, my race, language, origin, and culture. Those are the most specific traits I think define me as a person. I like to call myself African even though I was born in America because both my parents came from Ghana. I speak Twi fluently and speak it with my parents and other Ghanaian friends. One of the distinct characteristics that define me as a person is my accent. I lived in Ghana for eight years and talked like most Ghanaians. I am proud to be a Ghanaian and I do not tend to get rid of my accent so when I did come to the United States the teachers here put me in a different English class. Anzaldua states in her essay that " I and all Chicano students were required to take two speech classes. Their purpose: to get rid of our accents"(Anzaldua 250). I was able to relate to that because I went through something similar although they weren't speech classes. Apart from race, culture, language, origin and culture there are other things that show who I am as a unique individual, like the kind of job I have, my personality, my social class, how I dress up and many more. All these go to show who I truly am as an individual and I'm proud to be the person that I am now.