Personal Identity In John Stewart's Bridges Not Walls

The book Bridges Not Walls: A book about interpersonal communication Stewart identifies how communication shape and define who we are. In this reflective journal entry, I will use the quote “Identities are multidimensional and changing” (Stewart, 2012). Over the course of our life, we grow physically and mentally however some people like to believe the infamous quote “that’s just how I am” when someone is trying to assist them in growing their personal identity. That is a dangerous statement because it is proven that our identities are constantly changing with society. As we communicate with ourselves and other we co-construct our self- identity (Stewart, 2012). I can personally relate to my identity changing according to my relationship with Christ changing. As a Christian, I can recognize that people have the ability to change for the better and to see that people do change for the better. I have changed drastically in the past few years because of my relationship with Christ and involvement with other believers. Before, I met Christ and other believers I was negative, doubtful, lustful, and angry. A person’s personal identity builds his or her identity based on what others say about him or herself (Stewart, 2012). Because, I surrounded myself with more positive people and began reading about how my

Ascribed identity is often a function of one’s physical appearance, ethnic connotations, or other stereotypical associations. Knowing that it is human nature for us to ascribe others identity it helps for me to take in the positive and reject the negative. One connotation that I am associated with is the angry black woman. Often times I am not even angry I just have a strong personality and can come off direct. Unfortunately, those characteristics are often associated with being angry for a woman and even worst for a woman of