“When individuals lack self identity, they adhere to social norms and begin to conform, resulting in a stronger collective identity and a loss of individuality. “
Identity plays an important role in individuals lives. Through knowledge and experience, identities begin to form. An identity is a representation of who you are as a person or a group. This idea of identity reflects a person’s traits, likes and dislikes, values, and beliefs. Through years of growing old, many people base their identity off of their past experiences and history. But what happens when individuals have to decide from preserving their self identity or letting go of their individuality to fit in to homogenize with the local society around them? This often leads to a decision being made to fit into the community they are surrounded by. This foreshadows my thesis statement; When individuals lack self identity, they adhere to social norms and begin to conform, resulting in a stronger collective identity and a loss of individuality. Due to being around a certain group of people or a specific community, one may begin to conform because they feel like they can’t fit in. Through conforming towards a certain society, individuality may be lost. This is often the byproduct of homogenizing with society and an individual’s surroundings. As people grow, their identity grows with them: but when individuals lack individuality they become more susceptible to a greater force taking over their originality. The lack of a strong foundation of self identity can cause an individual to become attune to the people that surround them. This reflects the impacts of how individuals who do not have a strong sense of self character and personality, might go on to adhere towards larger more widespread identities. This is prevalent throughout many people’s lives. An indirect example of this is politics and the recent election. Individuals who do not hold a strong opinion on what they believe in often result in the vote of the more popular party. This portrays that individual conforming towards the greater identity as a whole. The loss of individuality can be caused by many factors but as seen throughout life, individuals who lack self identity often begin to adhere to social norms. Which results in a more interconnected and stronger collective identity.
I greatly relate to this thesis as it has played a significant role in my life. Growing up I have always been different. I looked different, spoke differently, and ate different foods. This is what made up my identity as an individual. Looking back at my past, I wasn’t the type of individual to fit in but was the one to stand out. My first four years of elementary school I had to fight my way through societal pressures to be able to keep my individuality alive. If I had not put extra effort to fight for my respect and character, I would have lost my self identity long ago. Looking back at my past, I can empathize with others who have not been able to hold on to their historical roots as it is not easy to create a strong identity by yourself. At one point I had seen myself letting go of my culture to fit into society. But instead of giving up my personality and unique characteristics, I pushed myself to stand up for my singularity and make a stance with my diverse beliefs and roots. I connect with this thesis because often it is easy to adhere to social norms instead of having to decide what one may want their future identity to look like. Through connecting through a collective identity, one may feel like they have less hardships. But as a trade off, they have lost their self identity and the traits which make them unique to society. I continue to actively hold onto my identity as without it I am like everyone else. It’s as if I were a red dot amongst a collage of black and white. My identity not only makes me stick out but also gives me confidence and courage to do things some individuals may consider dangerous and harmful. One must hold on to their values and beliefs before they fall into the hands of society’s norms through conforming. In order to prevent this; one must anchor themselves with their individuality before the wind of society blows them over.