Exploring identity
There are lots of things that can give us hope, but these are different for everyone. So, we’re now going to think about our identity.
What makes up someone’s identity?
Identity is what makes us ‘us’. It’s all the bits of who we are as a person that means we’re unique.
The kind of things that make up someone’s identity.
Introvert: Some people are quiet and reflective. This makes up part of their identity.
Family: Being a brother, sister, son, daughter, father, or mother etc. makes up part of a person’s identity.
Footballer: Someone who is good at football might describe themselves as a footballer. This makes up part of their identity.
Gender: Whether someone identifies as male, female or other makes up part of their identity.
Academic: Some people work hard and enjoy study and school. This makes up part of their identity.
Heritage: Someone’s ethnic background and heritage makes up their identity.
Age: How old someone is makes up part of their identity.
Extrovert: Some people are outgoing and socially confident. This makes up part of their identity.
Faith or religion: A persons’ faith or religious beliefs are part of their identity.
Musician: Someone who can play an instrument might describe themselves as a musician. This makes up part of their identity.
Video
No-one can be identified by just one thing, for example being good at sport can be important for a person but it is not the only thing that makes up their identity. Someone else might be really tall, but there’s lots of other parts of their identity. In the below TEDx video Marcus discusses what drives our identity and how people identify themselves.
When we’re growing up it can be hard to know who we are. Things change all the time and our identity changes with them. This is totally normal, and it’s very common to feel like we don’t have a clue who we are.