Identity In Higher Learning By John Singleton

Why do so many people consider gender and sex to be the same? Society has forced people to believe that there are two forms of identity, which are male or female. A person’s upbringing can have drastic affect on his or her perception about gender and identity. As stated in the “Complexity of Identity” by Beverly Daniel Tatum, a person has multiple identities ranging from gender to ethnicity. For example, I am brought in very orthodox Hindu family. My family is very conservative, which is why they tried to make me into a traditional “Indian girl”. When I was two and half years old, I came to America and it was very different from India, especially for my parents. It was a huge cultural shock for them because they never experienced women being so open-minded. Even though my parents knew that females in America are more outspoken, they still tried to impose feminine values on me. For instance, before I would go to school, my mom would comb my thick, black hair and tie it into two ponytails. Not only did she always tie my hair but she also made me wear dresses, even though I resisted multiple times. Over time I got into the habit of my mom dressing me up for school; however, I now realize that was not someone whom I wanted to be. I did not want to wear dresses, I did not want always want to tie my hair and I did not always wanted to be constantly reminded that I had to act like a girl. I was always under the impression that I should always act like a girl to be considered a

I can define myself as many things, as can many other humans in the world. I am a woman, I am a sister, I am a daughter. I am a violist, I am a student, I am a friend. Throughout my life, I find myself inspired mostly by those around me, holding myself to a standard that will help make their lives a little bit better.

African American education systems and colleges faced many issues systematically and socially. The process of integrating colleges was a process faced with opposition because the idea that higher education was made for strictly for white upper-class men was still the underlying ideal. While equal opportunity was promoted in the light, behind the scenes, systematically money, policy, procedure hindered black education and equal opportunity. Realizing this injustice, black students sought to find their own solutions to social justice issues happening not only within higher education but their communities while leading by example.

You cannot know who you are, and you never will. Some people think they know a lot about who they are, but that person is forever changing, that thing they are. Saying you know who you are can affect the way you act, because you try to be what you think is yourself, instead of the forever changing you. This can go on to affect you both mentally and relationally, both looping back and forth.

In 2010, Black females “earned twice the number of baccalaureate degrees than Black males (66% vs 34%). Also, 70% of Black men do not complete a college degree within six years,” according to “Deficient or Resilient: A Critical Review of Black Male Academic Success and Persistence in Higher Education.” Black males are usually a product of their environment which translates into their performance in college. Most of them will have friends and family who may discourage them and even encourage them to participate in illegal activities. Black males are not only prideful but they also put on a façade to the world that hinders their success. According to the same article, factors that contribute to a Black males success in college include “the ability to…becom[e] engaged on campus through leadership opportunities, the development of meaningful relationships with peers and mentors, and receiving ample familial and spiritual support.” In spite of the fact that, Black male students are often more successful at an HBCU because they feel more valued, they still have no chance to catch up with their female peers. They do not have the ambition and persistence to work hard particularly through the challenges that they face daily. They let their past failures, and their present obstacles define their future. Black males take the easy route and sell illegal drugs, commit robbery, gamble, rape and degrade women, and forget about the importance of their education, for a temporary relief. According to the article that is previously stated, “Black male attainment at HBCUs has declined by 6% in a single decade, and is currently hovering at 29%, in contrast with the 57% graduate rate of female counterparts.” In this article there is a study taken of 44 Black Males in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programs at HBCUs. This

Who Are We? What Are We? How does who someone is affect one's identity, or what they want to be? What makes them the person they are today? Well, their identity is what makes them who they are and as everyone changes, so does their identity.

Another major predicament that plays a large role in the amount of African Americans that do not receive a higher education is once they get to college, they do not have a typical or enjoyable experience once there. In today’s society, it is hard to imagine that there is still racism and segregation in schools and colleges today but the reality is, it still does very much exist. This is especially true when black students attend predominantly white universities. Even though most colleges promote themselves by talking about how diverse their

I have never really been asked ,” Who am I” . Honestly I don’t know who I am . I think not knowing who I am is okay because I am young and I have time to find out who I am. I am in high school this is where people get a taste of who they are. I don’t think anyone knows who they truly are because of social media, stereotyping and how this generation portray people now. Also because this generation is not comfortable with themselves they always want to be someone else

Who I am? Personally, I believe that a person’s identity can take only one of two routes. One, a person’s identity can change within that person’s life. Who I am now, is not necessarily who I was when I was younger. Experience can and will likely modify our identities. Therefore, experience can solidify our personal identification or it can weaken our personal identification. And as such, individuals and their perspectives are always evolving, or at the very least, they should evolve over time. Although there are some identities that evolve throughout one’s lifetime; there are some identities that remain consistent. Two, some identities cannot and will not change. So identities are socially and/or politically forces upon you, some identities are genetically assigned to you, and some you choose to keep. No matter the reason or reasons, these identities have been and will be consist within your lifespan. But, how you deal with them is up to you as an individual.

beliefs. Sober uses the example of lightning. He points out that according to the Greeks,

Who are you? Who am I? These are questions that we all ponder at some point or another in our lives. As human beings we are seemingly inundated with the desire to classify and categorise. We are constantly defining and analysing the differences that we observe in the world, it seems only natural that we would apply this method of classification to our position within our society. More specifically, we want to understand our social identities and this can be achieved by acknowledging which groups we identify most with.

Who am I? What is my place in the world? What do I want to do with my life? These are some of the most fundamental if not somewhat cliche questions that we as humans ask ourselves. From the moment of birth, we begin on our long journey toward not only discovering the world around us but also discovering ourselves. Although the journey of self-discovery is lifelong, most developmentalists agree that it is during the adolescent years that we seriously begin to consider the question of who am I? One of the most famous people to describe

Identity refers to structured sense of self, which manipulates itself in threads of life (Burr, 2015). Figure 1 of Tūrangawaewae shows individuals identity can be classified under our age, our gender (male or female), the values and beliefs we share (religious or non- religious), the experiences ( good or bad), the people we surround ourselves with (friends and family), also not limited to, from our genetic inheritance (ancestors or parents). However, identity threads are not pre inherited but are pre-constructed idea influenced by social experiences (Kahu, 2015). I am a woman, 21 years of age, Christian by faith, Fijian Indian by ethnicity. I use mind set of goals to convey through my identity. For example, excelling

Who am I? Who will I become? These are questions asked many times over as we constantly feel the need to define ourselves. Many people believe that a person can be defined as a collection of all his or her actions. However, this view is not entirely correct. It is not just our actions that define who we are or who we will become, but It is also our morals and values, the parenting that we received, our circumstance, our friends and family and society as a whole that has a great impact on who we are and as well as who we will become.

As I look back on my journal from the first week of this class I notice how different yet the same my answers to the question “who are you” are. In the first week, I still talked about how I identify as a hard-working college student that strives to meet her goals. I think, still do this day I identify as that. However, now I like to go in-depth with that question. Not only am I hard working but I am hard working because I strive to get my homework done on time, ask questions when I am confused, and participate in class discussions when I have something to input instead of sitting quietly like I typically would. I think that after studying identity for a whole semester I can grasp and identify who I think I