Thanks to the COM352 students for contributing a bunch of new pages! I'll be moving these pages into the main area of the wiki soon.

From UMassWiki

My identity is something that I thought about a long time before writing this paper. How could I sum up my personal identity in words? I guess I have decided to focus not on any particular aspect of my life, but talk about everything that I value, which makes up who I am. I am Jacob Watson Whitt. I was born on January 14, 1988 in Brockton hospital which is about 10 minutes away from the house where I grew up in Rockland Massachusetts. 318 Summer Street is the address of my true home. I went to Esten elementary school which is about a mile away from there. Next to the school is a farm with many barns, and where cattle roam free. I went to the Rogers middle School in Rockland, and of course the Rockland Public High School. I was the captain of my football team, participated in track and field, and wrote for the school newspaper there. I had a good time in my high school days, particularly the first couple of years. I could not talk about my identity without talking about my family who surely have contributed to who I am, and my identity today. My Mother and Father are the two main people in my life who have shaped me into the cat did you actually mean to write "cat"?I am. I have picked up true values from them. My Father has always preached the importance of working hard and trying your hardest at anything I do. My Mother has taught me to be a kind person. She is a sweet, caring lady who would do anything to help you out. My parents raised five kids and have always put us before themselves. The selflessness that they hold has provided a great model for how to raise a family and show your children that you love them. My identity reflects the values and lessons they have taught me over the years.(good examples) My Brothers and Sisters are also a big part of who I am. I grew up the second youngest, so had an older brother and two older sisters to spend time with as a kid. I’ve always looked up to my older brother, and he has somewhat served as a guide to what I should do with myself. I am my own man, but I have followed in his footsteps in many aspects of my life so far. He is five years older than me so I have never been in the same school or played on the same teams as him. I watched him do his “thing” in his childhood all the way through, graduating from UNH last spring. Keith is a truly nice guy. He’s just one of those stand up guys that tries to do everything right. The opposite of a fuck up. I have followed in his footsteps by by trying to be a good person. My sisters are a couple of people who have helped me out in my life as well. Katie, who is Keith’s twin is someone who has always been there for me in my life. I have heard stories of how she would take care of me when I was a baby and how she kind of thought of me as her child. She has always gave(given) ? me helpful advice for school and such things. My Oldest sister Lindsay are (is?)present in some of my youngest memories. She is a funny person who I have always connected with on a humorous level. My sisters have contributed to who I am today because they have always been there. My younger brother Bryan is a young kid who seems to be excelling at everything he does. Bryan is at the top of his class receiving straight A’s, and is the leader of his football and basketballs teams. He seems to be ultra-motivated, and I really do not know why. He is only a freshman in high school and reminds me of some little machine. I spent a lot of time with him in my younger years. I kind of learned some personal responsibility when I was a really young kid because when he was born I realized that the attention was off me and there was a new baby in the house. I helped my Mother out by doing small things that helped her out around the house and on errands. If I had to mediate to one aspect of my identity it would have to be my sense of humor. Laughing with my friends is easily my favorite thing to do in life. Laughing is just the perfect thing to do. My friends and I have had so many good memories throughout my life. When recalling all of these memories the laughter is what remains. Not the halls or walls, not the food or drink, but the laughs. My friends are so important to me. They really take the load off your back when your in a tough situation. When I have nothing to do in my boring little town, I know I can always laugh away the hours with my boys. It’s friendship that fuels the gas tank in this journey called life. That’s something I just made up, and actually really like. (good job showing your true personality) My hometown Brothers could be described as crazy, wild, laid back, childish, ignorant, funny, strange, outlandish, and of course the best. These guys are my identity because I’ve spent so much time with them. I’ll start with my good buddy Dan McGarry who is actually my third cousin. Me and Danny have a lot in common. We share many of the same opinions about so many different topics. Once in a while we will have our philosophical conversations. These things are “out there” ladies and gentlemen. There is no limit to what our human brains will think of during those hours. I call Danny “JJ Junior” because he kind of looks like singer songwriter, Jack Johnson, who’s music we both have a profound respect and love for. Dan’s a great guy who’s really fun to hang out with Spencer Thornley is a crazy mother fucker. This kid has so much energy it’s snot even funny. I’ve been hanging out with Spence since about eighth grade when we played on the same basketball team. Spencer and I have a tradition of “F’in around” as we call it. This is when we just go crazy saying weird comments that I’m not even gunna mention. We use weird voices and basically just crack each other up. Spencer is a good kid who has a tendency to show his emotion whenever an emotional moment arises in life. Brendan Sullivan or “Sully” is the “pun king”. Sully and I have a habit of finding humorous puns in our everyday life. For example SOCO, the abbreviation of southern comfort, has been transformed into an expression for a chilly day. “ It’s SOCO out”. Ya know like “so cold”. Haha, it’s pretty dumb but we get a kick out of things like that. Sully is a great kid who would break his back helping his buddies out. My friends are always there for me and that’s why they’re such a big part of my identity. Again, laughing out loud is my favorite activity and I would do it all day long if that was an option. Man, what would I do without those guys? I really don’t know. My other friends are just as important to me and I love them all. My Identity includes my hometown of Rockland Mass. Rockland is a fairly small town on the south shore about fifteen minutes away from Boston. Rockland is a truly eclectic community. It has it’s fair share of crack heads and bad crowds, but also has a great accumulation of good people. Rockland does not have much money. That can be seen by just taking a walk through the High school which is really outdated. It’s a place that I’ve come to love and hate. I guess I hate the fact of how small and does not have many happenings. I mean, it doesn’t even have a bowling alley. I love it because all of my favorite people live there. I can attribute much of my childhood lessons to the dusty streets of Rockland. I would say that music plays a large role in my identity. My music preference is very broad. I truly love Hendrix, Grateful Dead, and Pearl Jam. My musical identity is strong because I can relate to my music. I love it. I saw Pearl Jam live this past spring and I couldn’t have asked for a more electrifying experience that I will never forget. The energy that comes from the speakers when im listening to it just flows through my soul. My identity involves the place I live, The people I love, and the things that I appreciate. I had trouble thinking of a specific subject to write about but I am happy that I decided to just go and describe the things in my life that are important to me. My personal identity is something I hold dear and have a profound love for. I am who I am, If you don’t like it, I could care less, but I’m here, and im not going anywhere.

Overall I thought that you did a very good job in writing the narrative about your identity. I felt that you were not afraid to show your true self and did not bother sugar-coating things. The language which you used along with little quirky phrases allowed me to see your true personality and the way in which you interact with those you feel comfortable around. I think that by describing the different members of your family and then explaining how each of those people has affected your life was a very good way to describe yourself and who you are. It is very clear that your family and friends are the most important part of your life and what has formed your identity. Overall I really enjoyed reading your narrative and felt as though I got to know you just from reading your essay. You seem like a very nice person and did a good job!