Lily Terhune

September 19, 2014

ENGL 1100, Writing Skills Workshop

Professor Young

Essay 1

Identity

When I walk through the streets I feel as if people’s eyes can see right through me. Who do they see? Do they see my baggy jeans, my sneakers, and my hoodie and think I am a guy? Or do they see my small frame, long eyelashes and cheekbones and think I am a girl? My name is Sam. I was born a girl, yet I know I am a guy. My sex is not my identity. My sex is not who I am. In Gloria Anzaldua’s passage, “ How to Tame A Wild Tongue”, her identity is her language. Gloria speaks in her own “slang”, Chicano Spanish, a mix of Spanish and Mexican. She is told that her language is not correct and that she needs to change it. However, Gloria says you cannot change ones identity. “Wild tongues cannot be tamed, they can only be ripped out” (Anzaldua 244).  Anzaldua’s language makes up who she is and I stand by her and admire how she does not change her native language for anyone. Identity is important because it makes up who we are and who we will become. 

Identity is made up of who you are and it is important because it is a sense of self and an acceptance of your inner pride. Anzaldua belongs among the Chicano’s and grew up always being corrected for the way she spoke. Anzaldua says, you cannot “tame” a wild tongue. Her native language cannot be controlled or changed because it is who she is; her identity. Anazdula felt as if she had to hide her language because she was always being told she was wrong. Although, she feels very passionately about her language being part of who she is. Anzaldua says, “ I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself” (Anzaldua 251). I think its important to be passionate about your identity because it shows the inner pride you have in yourself.

If  identity never existed we would be always searching for something we would never find. Searching for your identity is a common thing for teenagers. We all experience those awkward years from middle school into sophomore year of high school. We struggle to find a place and meaning in this world. We meet new people and experience new things that all have an impact on who we are. But sooner or later we find who we are and where we belong. Once we reach that, we have completed our search. But what if there was no such thing as identity? I can’t imagine a world without it, it is necessary. It is made up of a lot of things like characteristics, beliefs and morals, hobbies, and language.  I would feel lost without music which is part of my identity just as Anzaldua would if she did not identify herself with the Chicanos. She feels a sense of home among them. It is necessary and without it we would be lost, never finding a place where we belong.

Identity is important to our development and the way we carry ourselves. It is the way we view ourselves as well as the way we are viewed by others. Gloria Anzaldua is told her language is wrong and that she has to change who she is to be proper. Our identity is necessary and without it we would be lacking something crucial to our development. As I walk through the doctors office doors the beat in my chest gets faster and faster. My face masks exactly the way I feel. I keep my expectations low. Now that I am eighteen, I finally have the ability to do this without the permission of my parents, which I would never receive. Today is the day, the day I can start my transition into the real me. My search for my identity is over. My looks will soon portray the way I feel. I have pushed through all the obstacles, never stopping to give up. Im now standing in front of the doctor, my feet cold against the tile floor, about to finally take the steps that I have been waiting to complete. I am ready for the next step in my life, I am ready to be the real me.