Ding! The room quiets as Ms. Cooper rings the bell. “Time to work on the identity maps” she says. As we pull them out I read my list: vegetarianism, the OBX, and books. Glancing over, I see gymnastics, softball, sushi, sports, drum sets, and comics among other things. I have some great ideas, so let’s get drawing.
Out of all the aspects of me I used in the creation of my identity map, three stuck out to me as extremely important. First, I am vegetarian. This is important for two reasons. Primarily, when I go out to eat, there are a surprising number of restaurants that don’t have filling vegetarian food. So many of these restaurants actually refuse to accommodate me and my dietary restrictions and I eat very little food. Another reason this affects me is that oftentimes I am not able to eat certain foods when I have dinners with family and friends. For example, in the outer banks my family had a chicken dish and I had to eat something else. The next thing I will refer to is the OBX (outer banks). One reason it is important to me is because I get to be with my family which I love to do because I don’t get to be with them often. Another reason is I have lots of good memories there and It is nice to return to them. Finally, I love to read. I like books for two reasons. First, I love the entertainment books provide me with; to me books are better than any TV show. Also, I love to learn, which is also seen in books. The identity maps taught me about myself and others and helped me become closer with my friends.
The identity maps not only helped me to discover myself but also my classmates, their personalities, and their identity maps as a whole. Firstly, I learned that Yana is a gymnast. I also learned she plays softball on a team with friends and enjoys that. My connection to this is that I used to play on a baseball team with my closest friends and I found that fun. I also learned about Sebastian. The first thing I learned about him was that he plays drums. He plays in a band and likes the full drum kit best. Another thing I learned is that he loves comic books. He makes and reads them. He makes tons of comics by hand and sells them at stands to make money. My connection to him is that I play the drums too. I’m not in a band but I play at home. Finally, I learned about Jenna. Firstly, I learned that she loves sushi. Particularly avocado rolls. Secondly, she enjoys sports. She plays soccer, baseball, softball, flag football, and tennis. I play tennis too and really enjoy it. Through the identity maps I learned a lot about me and my connections to friends and classmates and got to share aspects of me.
Reflecting on all of our identities has definitely helped me build connections with my friends and classmates. By learning more about them I can become closer and find connections. I also learned about myself.
By just writing things down, I can learn things about me and uncover connections between aspects of my personality I didn’t know about. Have you tried to make an identity map? If not, you should.
