Many factors shape an individual’s identity, starting at birth. An identity can be thought of as a collection of various experiences and influences.

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Many factors shape an individual’s identity, starting at birth. An identity can be thought of as a collection of various experiences and influences.

People tend to associate other people with things that interested them. What a person collects, researches or is fascinated by reflect something about his or her character.

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Identity (n):

Our name is the most basic form of identification. A name alone may not speak volumes about the kind of person we are but it is the label we receive at birth. When meeting someone new the first thing one usually asks is the other person’s name. We fill out forms first and foremost with our name. Our name is called to get our attention.

1. condition or character as to who a person or what a thing is: a case of mistaken identity.

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2. the condition of being oneself or itself, and not another: he doubted his

own identity.

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A sentimental object can reflect or become part of our iden-tity. A necklace worn everyday can be used an indentifying characteristic. This object becomes not only physically close to an individual but known to others as part of that person. It is how one is recognized.

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A person can easily be indentified by the people they spend time with. These people are big influences on who we be-come. Two childhood friends growing up together would end up as two very different people had they never met. A close friend can easily become part of our identity.

Our sense of self comes from where we are born, where our relatives are form, and what cultures we indenitify with. Our identity is grounded in cultural traditions, family ties, and a close rela-tion to a certain place.

3. the sense of self, providing sameness and continuity in personality over time.

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Collection (n): a group of objects or an amount of material accumulated in one location, esp. for some purpose or as a result of some process: a stamp collection; a collection of unclaimed hats in the checkroom; a collection of books on Churchill.

Objects can be used to identify a person. A person-al collection, a piece of frequently worn clothing or a ring with a name on it are all related to a person, but objects have identities of their own as well. An artifact given to us by someone else, while being a way to identify the owner, also has its own iden-tity related to the person we received it from. In a personal collection each object can be individually separated by identifying its origins.

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“An identity would seem to be arrived at by the way in which the person faces and uses his experience.”

James Baldwin

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“An identity would seem to be arrived at by the way in which the person faces and uses his experience.”

James Baldwin