What is the Identity


I can relate to age identity. Growing up I was always the smallest child so people thought I was younger then I really was. I had a friend in high school whose mother said I was immature for my age because of the way I acted when I watched sporting events. In my culture turning age thirteen means you become a man or a woman. To this day I sometimes get carded when I buy lottery tickets. I guess that is a good thing when I am sixty I will look like I am forty. I have to admit it sometimes bothers me that people look at me like a kid, but I am who I am.

How did you learn that having this identity was different from having another identity? When you learned this, how did you feel?

I would say that having age identity is different from having physical ability identity because though I am small for my size it never stopped by ability to do the things I wanted to do. When I was a child I played soccer for seven years and was always the smallest kid on the team, but I never let that stop me. I always held my own with the kids that were bigger and more superior then me. I might have looked younger then everybody else but played like a champ when I got on that field. In high school my freshman year we had a three week period where we played basketball. Nobody chose me because of my small stature but I nailed those three pointers when I got the ball in my hands, I was a mini Jeff Hornacek. I felt great knowing that someone my size was taking charge in the games I played. Even though my opponents tried I was not to be denied on the soccer field or the basketball court.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of having this identity for you personally?

For me personally there is only one advantage to having age identity I can get things at a cheaper price because I look younger then I really am. I believe there are more disadvantages to have age identity. You get carded all the time. When I was in my twenties I had trouble meeting girls because I looked a lot younger then I really was girls shied away from me. Overall I made my disadvantages into advantages whatever I do or have done in life I do with such a confidence that except for things I have no control over I am successful.

How does this identity influence you in school or at work?



This identity always had a negative influence on me in school. When I was in the fifth grade on the first day of school the teacher walked up to me in line and told me that kindergarten through third grade met on the other playground that this area was for fourth through sixth graders. When I told her I was in the correct line and I was a fifth grader, she apologized and you can tell was really embarrassed. I was even held back in elementary school not only for my grades, but the teacher told my parents one more year of the same grade would not only help my school work but it might give me a chance to grow to look more like the kids in my age range and grade.

How does your identity influence the way you communicate with people from your own and other identities?




I communicate fine from with people from all identities. I am a people person very friendly and outgoing. When I talk to people I control the conversation and talk with such confidence. I sometimes can talk very fast and jump from one subject to another. It must be the New York in me. My age identity does not slow me down one bit.

Conclusion

I have age identity and would not have it any other way. I might be small for my age, but I am a unique individual who has a lot to give to the world. As Martin and Nakayama, (2011) states “as we age, we tap into cultural notions of how someone our age should act, look, and behave; that is, we establish an age identity.” Just because you’re a certain age does not mean you will be big or small or behave a certain way. I will be forty years old next year people take me for in my twenties. Not only do I look young I feel great. According to communicationencyclopedia.com (2008) “Communication plays a substantial role in influencing understandings and self-presentations with regard to age. While the immutable passing of time (and rising chronological age) is at the heart of life-span development issues, our age group identifications and the age groups into which we are categorized are not deterministically organized by chronological age.” Being that I look younger then I really am, I hope that means long Gevity of life. As reported by health.usnews.com, (2011) “People who look younger than their age tend to live longer than those who look older than their years, a new study suggests. The finding came from research that involved 1,826 Danish twins, aged 70 and older, who were given physical and cognitive tests and then had their faces photographed. Three groups of volunteers looked at the photos and indicated the age they perceived the participants to be. Twins were assessed individually, and on different days.”





Reference

Communicationencyclopedia.com (2008) Age identity and communication

http://www.communicationencyclopedia.com/public/tocnode?query=cognitions&widen=1&result_number=354&from=search&id=g9781405131995_yr2012_chunk_g97814051319956_ss34-1&type=std&fuzzy=0&slop=1

Health.usnews.com (2011) Looking Younger than Your Age May Mean Longer Life

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/boomer-health/articles/2009/12/14/looking-younger-than-your-age-may-mean-longer-life



Martin & Nakayama (2011) Experiencing Intercultural Communication. McGraw-Hill. New York