PERSONAL ESSAY

How do I know who I am?

How do I know who I am?

There are several things to be observed and learned from this world; these things are either learned from the teachers and counselors, or we learn ourselves through the experience of life. There are certain things in this world that cannot be taught to anyone. These are the things that we need to explore ourselves. It is a widely accepted statement that an individual can learn the most complex and complicated things through personal experience. The complexity of this learning process is completely dependent upon the environment we belong. An individual's learning starts in his childhood, where his parents and the social surroundings are his teachers (Dinty, 2010).

The purpose of this paper is to explore and elaborate the foundation of my identity and the enlightenment of the things that I learned in my life. The focus of this paper would be on the experiential learning rather than the academic. It is globally accepted phenomenon that the identity of a human being can be judged through several things (personality, life style, optimism, way of thinking etc). There are several incidents that an individual encounters during his lifetime. These incidents have a significant influence on the personality and identity of an individual; because, there are several things that an individual learns from these encounters.

There are different frame of minds that govern ideologies of different families. There are several factors inside that have a significant impact on the lifestyle of families in this world. The lifestyle of an individual's family is positively correlated with the framework through which an individual transforms during various phases of his life. In this paper, I would discuss my family's socioeconomic or class position, ethnic identity and religious affiliation, gender approach followed in my family, my family's native and other languages spoken in my home, my family's educational expectations from me, my family's participation in any racial, ethnic, or class-based associations or organizations in the community, openness in my family and the resilience of my family. These factors are essential to discuss because they have a tremendous impact on the structure of family and the experiential learning that an individual receives (D'Agata, 2009).

Body of the Essay

My Family's Socioeconomic Class and Position

The financial position of my family is quite stable. The lifestyle of my family is excellent; yet, we do not lead a luxurious life. If I have to categorize the social and economic position of my family, I would consider my family to belong to a middle socioeconomic class. My father is an ordain minister and my mother is a teacher in a school and a social worker as well. The average monthly income of my family is not extraordinary; however, my father did not deprive me of anything since my childhood. I belong to a well educated family; therefore, my parents are very serious about my academic career. My family believes that education is not only the key to success, but it also plays a ...