Self identity

Finding one’s self In life an individual stumbles upon numerous factors and situations that either make up or define their own identity. For instance, religion, along with family traditions, helps create a person’s values. The environment the individual grows up in imprints its values, norms, personality, and beliefs that shape the individuals overall self-identity. Furthermore, this also includes family, friends, partners, and people who may have socialized or interacted with the person on a daily basis such as a teacher or coach. Thus, self-identity is compiled of many layers that represent the experiences and interactions we come across and the values which were instilled by society. I then ask the question how much control, if any, do we as individuals truly have in developing our own self-identity? Growing up as a child, much or all of our identity comes from our parents, who raise us with their set of culture, norms, beliefs, traditions and views on life. As we become older, we struggle with the idea of branching out to find ourselves. However, many times our ideas contradict what we were raised to believe. The thought of following a different path may hurt or disappoint our parents which tends to lead us back to our roots or holds us back entirely. In the novel “Divergent” by Veronica Roth, Beatrice finds herself is this very situation. Being raised all her life to be Abnegation, who is always selfless, Beatrice struggles to identify with a faction or district that carry the characteristics that best represent what she wants in life. This is a difficult decision for Beatrice in the fact she struggles to let go of her Abnegation roots. During the choosing ceremony, we see how she wrestles with the idea of being selfish or selfless in the fact that choosing another faction other than her own will mean that for once in her life she was thinking of her own interest rather than others. Beatrice even after choosing Dauntless as her faction refuses to forget