Personal Identity: A Cultural Analysis

Culture is defined by shared beliefs, customs, values, country of origin, and institutions relative to a group of people. However, culture not only encompasses objectives of shared traditions, geography, and religions, it also includes shared concepts such as gender, cognitive processes, and various types of interpersonal relationships that are deemed as highly relevant to the majority of a group (Baruth & Manning, 2012). Because of the fluidity of culture, people can be identified by a multitude of intersecting cultural aspects to represent themselves as a whole. The manner in which I identity myself with cultures is not of any difference compared to what is noted above. My identity is defined as a 21-year old female of Nigerian descent currently

There is still an abounding amount of respect I have for the collectivistic attitude and customs of my culture, however, as an individual the majority of my culture’s customs do not parallel my identity. Many people may often think that within a cultural group that people are similar, but there is often greater variability within a culture than outside of a culture (Ormrod, 2008). For example, I consider myself a perfect example of deviating from the norm in my family culture, especially from my parents’ customs. While growing up as a child, at some point in my life I noticed that I cherished independence. Even though I was soft spoken, sensitive, and secretive, qualities of which are counter to my culture, I was and still am an adventurer. My parents often seemed isolated within the immediate family and around a few friends, but I always desired the exploration of new people and being socially adept. In terms of my identity, the longing to branch out and explore beyond my immediate environment always reflected through my dream-like attitude. I wanted more social stimulation beyond the small rural Southern town in which I lived, and the addition of my family’s stick-to-ourselves attitude did not sit well with

As a Christian, I grew up practicing Catholicism. Although I was reared in the Catholic Church by my parents, I always felt that I had a deep, personal connection with Catholicism as if I choose this religion on my own. My cognizance of the emotional connection that I have with praying, and my reverence for traditional practices such as Confessions, paralleled with my sensitive and soft-hearted personality. My spiritually and belief in a higher power, God, informs how I view and live in the world. Whenever people become unworthy of my trust, are undependable, try to bring havoc upon my innocence or politeness, or blatantly attempt to exploit my feelings with their misunderstandings, practices of my religion such as prayer and meditation are an outlet in which I am able to feel secure and peaceful. However, there are moments that I get angry or put myself in situations that may be wrong for me, but part of my religious identity is about being comfortable to uplift myself whenever I tend to stray away from sources that align with my