The Importance Of Influence On My Identity

How do you define your identity? While appearing to be a simple question, distinguishing the elements of one’s selfhood and the influences acting upon it can prove challenging. Many components cannot be examined without acknowledgement of their connection with others. Influences may not be consistent and enter and leave your life unexpectedly. In my own attempt to answer this question, I discovered the complexity of my character does not allow for solely distinct assertions of self. My identity is an ever-changing construct of inter-connected components, each with their own unique or shared influences.
To begin with, a great deal of how I perceive myself is based off my ability (and disability) to interact with the world; my self-identity is

My mother taught me for the first 12 years of my life and not only instructed me in academics, but also trained me on how to receive and reflect on the given information. Likewise, my father regularly had hours-long talks with me about life, reality, and my place in the world. Most of my currently held notions can trace their origins back to these discussions. Finally, raised by my parents to be protestant, my currently held faith has its roots in the faith of my father and mother.
Another influence on my identity has been my economic standing. Never having to need for clothes, food, or even most modern commodities, my identity has been shaped by the fact that my future is quite literally limited by myself, not by a lack of necessities or opportunity. As such, my sense of self is almost carefree in nature. My aspirations aim high as a failure is not a prevalent fear. Mentioned before, my core identity component of personal capability would not nearly be as important if it weren’t for how my environment enabled

Throughout my life I’ve been homeschooled, virtual-schooled, private schooled, and public schooled. Because of this variety, I’ve had a wide range of experiences. The rapid change of environments required me to develop into an adaptable person content to be alone with one’s self at times. After switching to public school, I became increasingly independent from my homeschooled background. My understanding of morality, while still retaining basic beliefs, shifted to reflect my surroundings. My values became convoluted and sometimes conflicting at times as my friends, family, and teachers each had unique impacts on my understanding of right and wrong. In this manner, my sense of self and what was permissible for me to do became looser as the influences on my identity