We as people hold a certain baseline of who we are that is often challenged when we face the world’s trials. From that baseline, we shift across a certain threshold of adaptability, gaining new traits that become part of our foundation the longer we retain those traits or stay within the environment that requires certain adaptations. In light of these ideas, we as people have a baseline template that governs who we are.
Our baselines are forged when we’re young, often taking shape from experiences we have throughout our early childhood. The first years of our lives are critical to the development of our foundations, crafting blueprints for us to follow for years to come. Ideals and teachings taught by our caregivers mold and shape the person we become later in life. Though puberty throws a wrench in that development and is one of the most influential experiences we have as people.
Puberty serves as one of the most prominent examples of experiences altering our personality. Throughout those developmental stages, we experience so many things that change us. Some of us become more of the same foundation, while others shift beyond our foundations. Either way, our foundations while altered, often tend to stay present even when we don’t think they’re present. If we look deep within ourselves, we’ll find the foundation we’ve built upon still standing strong.
All of this is true for most people. However, some people experience things that crack the foundation of their identity to its foundation. These people often experience many of the mental health struggles that people stigmatize the most. Others find out that their identity and body don’t quite line up, causing immense discomfort and that is a type of experience that resonates with them throughout their lives because the house doesn’t line up with the foundation. All of this goes to say that identity is a complex topic with many interconnected patterns that everyone experiences differently. No box is going to fit every person’s experience…
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