By definition, identity can be said to refer to an individual's perception of who they are, which perception is a component of their thoughts and beliefs on himself. Identity is very vital in our life as it influences our behavior and how we interact with other people. Identity can also be said to be how we define ourselves. Adapting this knowledge to define my identity, I can say that I am a middle-class Chinese gentleman. Considering my academic education in the United States of America, this social identity of mine continues to influence my view of the world around me. My social identity continues to influence how I interact with other people and has created potential opportunities and barriers for me, especially for my future career. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay To begin with, my gender as a man is one of the characteristics of my social identity that had, and continues to have, the most influence on my life. Being a Chinese gentleman, I must grow up as a responsible person to actually take responsibility for my future life. Like many other Chinese men my age, I am expected to get a job or start my own business after college in order to cultivate solid financial security not only for myself, but also for my future family. The fact that I will have to get married right after college and start a family is something that has given me the greatest motivation to work hard in school and graduate with the highest possible academic credentials that will increase my chances of finding a job of my choice in the next future. Belonging to the male gender has generally influenced the choices of friends I interact with. In general, I have become a little biased in choosing my friends as I tend to feel more comfortable in the company of other men than women. Because of this, most of my friends in my social circle are men. Of the few women in my social circle, most are relatives from my extended family. Although this composition of my social circle may seem biased, I feel very comfortable as I have a personal belief that, as a man, it is much better to develop close friendships with other men with whom I can freely share my concerns. as a man and orient myself towards achieving the right manhood for the benefit of my future life. The other part of my life where my social identity as a man has had a great influence is the formation of my perception regarding my future prospects of finding a job. In this regard, I strongly believe that I possess a greater advantage than my female counterparts in obtaining a job shortly after my graduation. This is due to gender stereotypes in the workplace that perceive men as performing better in most jobs than women. Additionally, the current job market offers many jobs specifically advertised for men. This is a potential opportunity that my social identity as a man has created for me, especially in the pursuit of my future career. For this reason my interest in finding a job immediately after graduation has grown greatly. Another element of my social identity that has contributed to creating great potential for me to easily find a job in the future is the connection with my family who belongs to an upper-middle class. In addition to providing me with a much easier path to getting a job right after graduation, the connection with my family will make it easier for me to getstart-up capital in case I change my mind about my career and decide to start and run my own business. own business. My association with an upper-middle class family will also make my life after school much easier as I won't have to rush too much to find a place to live as my family has plenty of room to stay starting after graduation from school. However, one of the biggest challenges that my social identity creates for both my present and future life is the language barrier. My first language is Chinese but I am studying in the United States of America where the natives' first language is English. Being Chinese, I have difficulty expressing myself eloquently in English, something that has made me develop a great fear of speaking in front of people because I might embarrass myself and tarnish my public image. This limited my interactions with many people in college and made me more introspective as I now tend to keep most of my thoughts to myself and only share a few with my peers and a few Chinese students in college. The impact of this social identity of mine has contributed immensely to narrowing my social circle even further. However, the fact that English is an international language gave me the motivation to learn English and perfect my communication skills in this foreign language. With this growing interest, studying in the United States has created a valuable opportunity for me to learn the English language as many people I meet and study with are eloquent English speakers. I can hone my language skills by listening to their public conversations and befriending them to teach me the language and thus help me perfect my communication skills over time. I intend to use this opportunity so that when I finish college and return to my home country, I will be a perfect and eloquent speaker of English. Another potential barrier to my social identity as a native Chinese speaker is that this language barrier may continue to limit my chances of thriving in my career once I find a job in the future. this is because I could get a job in a company in the United States where most people don't speak Chinese as their first language. Getting along with these people, especially in team projects, could be a hindrance for me in the future. This is because my team members may fail to understand my identity and I may also have difficulty understanding theirs, which will most likely result in a compensation crisis in my future workplace and limit my chances of developing the my career. To help me overcome this potential barrier and make a great contribution to a diverse workplace, I have developed an even greater interest in learning English because it is an international language spoken by most people in most companies. The fact that I am studying from the United States provides me with a good platform to achieve this goal of mine. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In conclusion, and as can be seen from the above discussion, my social identity plays a very important role in my present and future life. This is because my social identity continues to influence how I interact with other people and has created both potential opportunities and barriers for me, especially for my future career. Belonging to the male gender has given me the advantage of getting a job more easily than my female counterparts due to the existing stereotype in the workplace that.