Justine Fernandez

September 8, 2014

Professor Young

Eng 1100

What defines you Essay

            In the reading “How to Tame A Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua talks about how identity defines you as a person, and that its says a lot about who you are. In her writing she states that “I am my language” and I agree with this statement because I strongly believe that your language says a lot about you as a person and where you come from. Spain defines me in everyway possible from its language to its food.

             Identity is what makes you, you and how you want the world to see you. It defines you as a person, and it shows more than just what the world see you as. Identity to me is who you are, starting from where you were born, your language, religion , heritage, to what you want to be . When I think of my identity I think of Spain in every way possible, Spain defines me as a person because not only is my whole family from Spain but it is a culture and a lifestyle that I have grown up with, it is also why I am the person I am today. In the text by Anzaldua she was constantly faced with whether or not she should go with society, or stay the way that she is. She was torn between what she knew all of her life and what she wanted to be, and what society wanted her to be.I can connect to her situation with mine because, growing up I was always taught to speak Spanish to be Spanish in every way possible from the language to the food that I eat at dinner, but as soon as I got to kindergarten I got smacked in the face with different instructions on how to be as a person. I had to speak English, I had to write in English, it was the complete opposite of what I was told to do my whole life, the decision that I had to make was do I conform to what they want or stay the way that I was already. In reality I had no choice in that decision, I had to conform to what everyone else wanted. This experience made me realize that identity is important, and at a young age I had to chose my identity and decide at that very moment what I wanted the world, and people to see me as.

             Identity is very important, identity shows the world who you are and what you want the world to see you as. Identity is something that you are born with and something you figure out while you live your life. You’re suppose to be proud of your identity, and stand behind it, but quite frankly that was something that took time for me to get comfortable with, I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin for quite some time. Anzaldua talks about in “ How to Tame A Wild Tongue” how chicanos felt uncomfortable talking in Spanish to Latinas. They felt uncomfortable speaking basically the same language, while in my case I had to speak a totally different language to people I have never met before. It took me a while to be proud of the language that made me who I am. I had to learn that with keeping my identity also came with having pride. In the long run I figured out that I can have two identities without losing one.

            On the other hand,  Anzaldua talks about how people get names, and ger categorized because of what they define themselves as. This is relatable and true due to the fact that people are going to make assumptions based on stereotypical characteristics and they can be either good or bad.  They look are one social group and automatically think the same thing for all of the members of that group. With choosing your identity comes choosing what you want to say about yourself to the world. It shows what you want the world to view you as, even if that means being stereotyped. In my life I have always been stereotyped as a Latina when in reality I am not, I am Spaniard and with being called Latina all the time it can be frustrating because that isn’t who I am but it is something that I have to deal with. Identity is standing behind who you are no matter what, even if that means correcting people on a common assumption.

            In conclusion, just like Anzalduas story that she tells in the end she is proud of where she comes and the language that she speaks. And I can proudly say that im one hundred percent proud of where I come from and what I speak. Im confident enough to say that society cannot change me or the language that I speak but it can only enhance my view on life, and knowledge of different cultures around the world. You decide what your identity is, and how you want others to see you. Don’t let the world define you, you define the world.