Identity Essay

Your personal identity defines who you are based on your culture, personality, appearance, hobbies, career, and reputation. Each one of these characteristics come together and make you up, along with others such as race, gender, actions, sexual orientation, and socio economic class. The first thing people notice about your identity is your appearance and gender - are you a tall male or a short female? Do you have long blonde hair or short brown hair? Soon enough, they recognize your culture, race, and actions. Once you get to know others get to know you personally, the rest of these traits will stick out to them as time evolves. There is a long list of traits that make up your identity, but how much significance does each one have? Is there a specific one that would be the most important? German writer and statesman Johann Wolfgang de Goethe once said "behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows their image". Your behavior and actions determine the way that you treat others, how much of a genuine person you are, and how you deal with situations, making it very credible that it is the most relevant aspect of your personality.

We have all heard the saying "treat others the way you would like to be treated", correct? The base of that venerable statement is all about how one behaves. The best behavioral traits to have include friendliness, kindness, good manners, good morals, generosity, active listening, supportiveness, and humor. It is always important to be friendly towards others, let them know that you are a nice, approachable person. Treat them with kindness and be generous, offer to do them favors if needed, be their friend when nobody else is there for them; you never know how badly they may need that shoulder to cry on and how much of an impact it would make on them. Be polite with everybody you meet, a please or thank you can go a long way. Support your friends and family and listen to what they have to say, it would mean a lot to them. If you behave this way towards others, you will find that you are a pleasant, caring, person to be around and they are much more likely to return the favor and treat you the same way!

They say that actions speak louder than words, meaning that regardless of your words, your actions are what really define your motives and behavior. Saying one thing but doing another is not an example of good behavior, it makes you dishonesty and not trustworthy. Others will not see you as a genuine person if you do that, or if you put on a "front" and act differently than you usually would around certain people. However, if you always keep your promises and act like your true self at all times, you will be identified as a promising, authentic person.

You can not control the way others act, but you can control your reaction. Those who turn their negative experiences into something positive are modeling good behavior. Those who do not stoop to the bully's level are modeling good behavior. Those who work hard to overcome their problems are modeling good behavior. We have all heard the saying "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade", meaning you should always make the best out of whatever life throws at you, and that is one of the best actions out there.

There is a long list of characteristics that make up our identity. However, when it comes down to it, your most important quality is the way that you act. Your behavior says a lot about you and it makes your inner beauty shine if your actions are good.