Identity of an individual, in social context, is primarily concerned with who he/she is.

It
associates us to the elementary values that dominate our choices and selections in life. The
choices that we make reflect a portion of our identity. For example, the choices made by an
investment banker may value money; on the other hand, choices made by a teacher would value
education (Heshmat, 2014). This can be due to the roles that they play or the personality they
have. People’s identity can be defined by several aspects; such as, the role they play in their
life, their gender, cultural values, their personality, beliefs, passion and moral values. In this
essay, I will discuss three major elements of my identity, roles, personality and my culture.

One of the major dimension of self-identity for an individual is his role. The role of a person is
one thing that always keeps on changing at different points in life. Every individual in this
world plays some specific roles at a particular time (Family Jrank, 2012). Out of all the roles
he/she plays, only a few roles complement his/her identity and these roles become a major
element of their self-identity. Outside all the roles, the two major roles that I am playing in the
current stage of my life are of a student and of an employee. I am currently studying diploma
in business management at Edenz colleges and working part time as manager at Bottle-O liquor
store. Genetic predisposition has been crucial in defining my role. My father is a business man
and I had the ability to manage business effectively since childhood. This was one of the
reasons for choosing a role of being a business management student and managing a business
in my part time work.

The other element of my self-identity is my personality. Personality is a person’s psychological

pattern that is influenced due to various factors like public interaction and challenging
situations. Individual’s personality, just like his/her roles, also changes with his/her age. One
of main features of my personality are that I am a gregarious person who is capable of
influencing people with my words. I do not talk much and like to be reticent in my speech.
Furthermore, being a manager at my workplace, I have a propensity to take all people at
workplace together and getting the work done without being dominant. This has developed
some leadership skills in me and I believe that my personality is similar to that of a leader.

Cultural heritage is something that every individual possesses form his/her childhood. The
cultural traditions, religious beliefs and personal protocols that people follow largely affects
the choices they make in their lives and therefore, their choices based on cultural values become
an indispensable part of their identity. Culture is a feature of a person’s personality that is
transmitted from generation to generation. My cultural beliefs play a big role in shaping my
identity. I come from India where the cultural differences occur every 30 kilometres. My
cultural values have taught me to respect every human being in this world, whether they are
younger or elder than me. It is because of my cultural values that I am always humble and
polite in my words. Honesty, punctuality and veneration are three major elements of my
personality that have been embedded in my cultural values. These cultural values have come
from my family and my parents have instilled these values in me during my upbringing. I
currently live in Auckland, which is a cosmopolitan society and people from different cultural
backgrounds interact with each other. I interact with many people in my daily life but I am
proud that my cultural values have made me stick to my roots.

I am someone who likes to mingle up with everyone. I share a great camaraderie with my
colleagues at work and other students in my college. My personality and roles have helped me
to become a social and honest person in life and I have clear vision and a set roadmap to achieve
my objectives in life. I believe that all the features of my identity would serve as stepping stones
in my success.
References
Family Jrank. (2012). Family Roles - Personal Identity And Roles. Retrieved from Family
Jrank: http://family.jrank.org/pages/579/Family-Roles-Personal-Identity-Roles.html

Heshmat, S. (2014, December 8). Basics of Identity. Retrieved from Psychology today:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-choice/201412/basics-identity