What Identity Means To Me!

After reading the article "How To Tame A Wild Tongue" by Gloria Anzaldua, I began to look at my identity more and what unique characteristics make who I am. Gloria Anzaldua story was about how language can make someone who they are and is apart of their identity. However, when one tries to strip them from their language, they are also stripping them from their identity and your identity is the perception people have of you. The protagonist in the story was going through a tough time of having their language tamed by those who weren't from the same culture or origin as them. As being "outsiders" and not Americans, Americans felt as though they needed to speak Americanized English. In the text, there was a hatred quote that stood out to me the most, "If you want to be median, speak American. If you don't like it, go back to Mexico where you belong."(Anzaldua 256). This quote stood out to me because not being American or spoke American Standard English, you was looked down upon. You were dehumanized for being who you were. In the quote it states, "If you don't like it  go back to Mexico where you belong", this quote shows the hatred that American people have for people who come to America and are considered "Aliens" to them. Here you can see that being who you are is not always accepted by everyone.

In other words, the definition of identity is the distinct characteristics that define you as an unique individual as well as from the perception of other people. Me being an African American Male from Newark, New Jersey, i have some unique characteristics that make me who i am. Me being an African American, I understand my history of struggles the people before me went through for us to have what we have now. I also understand the history of slavery that my people went through and the culture we have created. My identity is important to me because its who I am as a person. Me being from Newark, New Jersey there are some stereotypes that come with where i am from. When people hear Newark New Jersey, they believe all the people from there are uneducated, into violence and are not successful. Well that is a lie, not everyone is caught up into violence and drugs. Me myself i was raised in a good family so i was not introduced to the negativity in my life. Also people seeing me play football for the height and weight i am, i get a lot of respect from people because of how much courage i have for playing a very physical sport. My identity makes me who i am now and how i got to where i am now. The qualities i have make me different from other people and its the unique perception i give to those who do not know me as a person.