Identity Portfolio 1:
Coursework
Race: White
Ethnicity, Heritage + Culture: White
Class + Economic Background: Upper Middle Class
Gender + Gender Expression: Female
Romantic + Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
Age: 21
Faith, Beliefs, Values + Identity: Catholic
Physical + Developmental Disability: None
Mental + Emotional Disability: Anxiety
Language Use + First Language: English
Nationality + Birthplace: United States
Citizenship: U.S. Citizen
Geographic Location: Farmville, VA
Literacy + Education Background: Associates Degree
Marital + Relationship Status: In a relationship
Caretaker + Parental Status: Not parent
Physical Appearance + Body Type: Blonde & thin
Housing Status: Renting a house
Two identities that are most important to me are female and anxiety. Female is a gender identity while anxiety is a mental/emotional disability identity. I believe anxiety is more important than all of my other identities because it defines a big part of who I am and why I do things. Being a female and having anxiety translates to what I desire for my future self because I want my future self to embrace these parts of her identity.
With being a woman, it plays into mattering because there are many things that matter when it comes to being a woman. More specifically, there are things are only women can do which makes being a woman matter. For example, having children is something only women can do which makes being a woman matter in society. Being a woman also matters to me because I believe that women are very strong when it comes to very difficult events. This makes being a woman matter. Being a woman, in the efficacy context, is important to me because I like to take control of things that I do and sometimes defy societal views of what women should be doing. Being a woman also plays into my self-esteem because society gives standards on who a woman should be which ultimately impacts my self-esteem. Defying these standards and staying true to myself as a woman gives my self-esteem a positive push in the direction I want to be in.
With having anxiety, it plays into efficacy because it controls parts of me when I don’t necessarily want it do so. In return, it affects my self-esteem because when I am able to take back control of situations and feelings, it gives me a positive push in positive directions. Lastly, mattering when having anxiety is a hard concept to accept, however, when you find individuals who understand and/or accept the fact that you have anxiety, it makes you feel like you matter.
Being female and having anxiety connect with my future career option very heavily. These identities help when trying to figure out how to help others who are struggling with the same thing(s). With school counseling, these identities helped me figure out I wanted to be a school counselor because I struggled with accepting being a woman with anxiety while I was in middle school and high school. I think having these identities will help with that career because I have knowledge about what it’s like to have them which in turn can help me to help others who have similar identities.