Ever since you were born, you 've been developing as a human being. As you got older, you began to gain an idea of who you were; an identity. This identity could have been developed due to many factors, such as your mindset and attitudes in situations, the people you surrounded yourself with, genetics, how OTHERS viewed you, or even how you believed they did. Out of all these factors, which has the greatest influence on your identity and has made you who you are today?
Your family, friends, and peers have been around you practically your entire existence (or at least a large part of it), so it makes sense they will be one of the largest influences on who you are. In the article, "A Teen 's friends Are a Powerful Influence" the author,
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A positive or negative mindset is another huge factor in shaping a person 's identity, Whether you view an issue in a positive or negative way, or if you change it, will alter your view on reality and who you are. Angie is an excellent example of reaching a turning point and shifting her life around by altering her mindset. " 'I ended up squashing the beefs that I had with people as I started changing my mindset to positive. I didn 't like the way they were staring at me at lunchtime so I went up to them and told them, 'I don 't have a problem with you. ' They were relieved that I felt that way. So we both learned a lot and ended up becoming friends '" (Robledo). Angie 's change of mindset completely changed her identity and self perception. She mended broken relationships with her peers and bullies and changed her way of reacting to being teased or looked at in the wrong way. By doing so, she altered her identity because she no longer viewed herself as mean, or as a bully herself. She changed her identity and self perception in a positive manner and increased her confidence. When your mind is set to something, you will most likely achieve it. This is called a self-fulfilling prophecy, which is what many girls in a report from the Girl Scout Research Institute, "Generation STEM: What Girls Say about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics" believe in. In a survey for the study, girls involved in STEM, and those who weren 't, were asked a series of questions, one saying, "If I try really hard at something I know I will succeed." 97% of STEM girls answered "Yes" to this compared to 88% of non-STEM girl (Generation STEM, 2012). This growth mindset of the STEM girls and willingness to try, fail, learn, and achieve will help them build strong self confidence and push them to identify as successful, hard-working people who never give up. Some people may argue that your mindset is not one of the greatest factors in