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Your Local Identity

Most people know how to self-identify themselves while others are completely clueless

and unaware of who they are, or simply how they came to be. I personally am still in the verge

of fully identifying myself and who I want to be. However, Im aware of the aspects that shaped

the person I am today. From family to religion, to traditions and culture to language and local

surroundings, my list could go on. Nevertheless, I believe that the neighborhood/area I was

raised in provided the most contribution in shaping the person I am today. When it comes to

shaping an individual's identity a neighborhood influences a persons identity at a high extent

due to the fact it it teaches one various traditions and ways, a vast amount of cultures and ideas,

and lastly it teaches one self-character. Everyone is different, the only question is; who are

you?

AAg, one doesnt need to mimic and be apart of them for the rest of their lives; you must
however, either choose to follow the tradition or simply exclude yourself from it. For instance,
every Saturday morning my neighborhood located in the East of Los Angeles called Boyle
Heights, holds a farmers market in a small outdoor plaza where you can bring certain goods to
either sell or exchange. I choose to be apart of this local tradition simply because I found myself
to be a social and willing person as I continued to meet new people, and learned new cultures.
Getting to know new people and small ways of living such as knowing how to cook traditional
dishes like the curry dish simply bring joy to me. And yet, there are some people who choose
to isolate themselves simply because they have no interest on certain traditions. My cousin, for
example lives in a small Mexican town where the vast majority of people follow and share
knowledge of soccer. My cousin, on the other hand, refuses to be part of such a way of living
because soccer never interested him. He gravitated more toward the art and simplicity around
his small town, Like the many murals painted in the small alleys of his town, each representing
the history and legacy of the town. A neighborhood carries a wide range of traditions and ways
of living its simply up to a person's character to follow them or not. Its about choosing your
way of living, not living how everybody else does.

Cultures and ideology play the most crucial role in shaping someone's identity. Culture

and ideology are what separate and run this world, its what makes this world diverse. Why do
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you think places like New York City and South American villages are so different? One is

highly influenced by urban cultures that consist of coffee shops, corporate jobs and people that

mind their own business, while villages are isolated in rural areas, and depend on everyone as a

whole. The ideas that one is mostly exposed to will ultimately determine their way of thinking

and perspective of the world. Why is it that different neighborhoods/towns around the U.S. tend

to have different views and ideas when it comes to politics? The answer mostly depends on the

ideas and cultures a certain neighborhood is surrounded by. In my neighborhood for example, I

was taught the idea that working hard and being open minded will in the long run open up more

opportunities for yourself, which I learned through observing the undocumented hardworking

individuals that reside in my neighborhood. These individuals, including my parents, work

countless hours to make a live a better lifestyle.. Your way of thinking and living will change as

more and more cultures and ideas are exposed to you. If someone continues to explore, learn,

and experience that person will have a completely different personality to those who sit around

and learn nothing.

A neighborhood will without a doubt have a strong effect when it comes to shaping ones

identity. A person like Sherman Alexie in Superman and Me was shaped at an extent shaped

by his neighborhood he lived at. He spoke about the marginalization of his race, and how it

affected him as a person. Alexie knew what others thought of him based on his advance and

complex way of thinking. He understood that being smart in the area he grew up in was

considered dangerous, he was able to identify who he is based simply by disagreeing and

hating his neighborhoods ideology. Alexie wouldve been a whole different person if only his

neighborhood wouldn't have looked at him differently.

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A neighborhood/area will shape a persons identity as it teaches one new traditions and

ways of living, new culture and ideology, and the idea of self-character. Traditions vary

depending on where you stand, cultures and ideas all change throughout where you live, and

lastly self-character comes down to how you view yourself in this world. So to answer the

question, who are you? You must go and search and observe the place you live in, this will

ultimately shape the person you are or even become.