Relationships

   It's  strange to  think about how relationships can help to form your identity. When you think about the about the person that you are, it's easy the credit yourself  with the making of that person and overlook the relationships that got  you there. But how much of yourself is actually a reflection of the influential relationships in your life? I think that it varies from person to person how much of an impact relationships have on their identity, but everyone's identity is influenced at least somewhat by relationships they've had in their lives.

   The most significant, identity forming relationship I've had is probably with my mom. I've never been super close with my mother, so it took me a while to realize how much she's actually influenced my personality. Unknowingly I picked up traits and ideas from her. I think that the biggest trait that she influenced is my open-mindedness and willingness to embrace diversity and change. I always took this for granted, but once I came to college I realized that this is not a quality that everyone has, and I started to think about why I am that way. I also think that it's because of her that I'm more apt to doing creative activities than sports. If I hadn't moved away from my home and from my mother, I might have never realized how much she influenced my identity.

   I also wonder how influential my friends are in forming my identity. While I probably owe the largest part of it to my mother, I still wonder how different I would be if I had had different friends in middle school and high school. It's interesting to think about how different parts of your life have influenced your personality.