Identity Paper for my Diversity class in Human Development

1. Running head: IDENTITY 1
My Identity
Kaylie Harding
University of Georgia

2. IDENTITY 2
My Identity
Identity plays a major role in who someone is. Personally, I take pride in my identity and
want to go about my life making a huge impact on every place I go and everyone I meet. My
identity includes being a white heterosexual twenty-one-year-old, American women that is
Christian. I feel I am privileged in that I have gotten to attend and spent four years at the
University of Georgia. Other aspects of my identity that I never thought of before include that I
have straight white teeth, blonde hair, blue eyes, a height of 5’7 and in the skinny weight range. I
was born in the United States and grew up in a small town in Georgia just an hour South of
Athens. Since I am from such a small country town, I grew up feeling privileged. When thinking
about my identity and how it has changed over the years I reflect back when I was around eight
years old and how around that time, I did not see myself as feeling privileged. Growing up my
mother and father experienced alcoholism and drug abuse problems. Due to these problems my
twin sister and I were raised by our aunt and uncle. Once we started to live with our aunt/uncle,
we began to feel privileged especially after experiencing the trauma that came with being around
substance abusers. Our uncle is a lawyer and has his own law office, so I grew up on the higher
end of the middle-class spectrum. I was very fortunate to have been raised by my extended
family and they have a lot to do with my identity and how I represent myself today.
While growing up I have personally not experienced oppression because of my skin
color, but I have seen African Americans experience it directly. An example of this is back in my
hometown a night club that is very popular starts making males show their school ID to get into
the club if they feel like they have let in “to many colored people”. I never thought of how this
can directly affect a person until I joined this class and started to write this paper. Since I am a
part of the higher end of the middle-class spectrum, I do feel privileged that I am able to attend

3. IDENTITY 3
the University of Georgia. This is some people’s dream school, but some are unable to attend
because they cannot afford it. Not only am I privileged that I can afford it, I am also privileged in
the fact that I have not taken out a single student loan. Many older adults are still trying to pay of
their student debt, so I am thankful I have not had to worry about that. I also would like to say I
am privileged in my physical features. I have blonde hair; blue eyes and I experienced this
privilege when I was on a mission trip to the poverty part of the Dominican Republic. I was told
to be extra cautious when interacting with the Dominicans because they flock to females that
have those specific features.
This paper has allowed me to reflect on my life and value the life I was given. It also
allowed me to see things from the minority’s perspective. I learned that things as simple as eye
color, height, or weight can be a part of your identity. Before this assignment I saw myself as
privileged, but I never took the time to think about the ways in which I was. Through this class
and class discussions I have gained new insight on how oppression has affected people’s lives. I
have learned that through oppression one may alter the way they live their life. I think we as a
society need to understand that times have changed and there are several definitions that
represent “normal”. I am thankful for this class because it has allowed me to alter the way I treat
people as well as allowed me to see things from the minority perspective. These topics have also
allowed me to be thankful for the opportunities that I have.