Kielende Isungu Treacy

ProfessorAltman
English 101
14 December, 2015
Identity
Identity is the distinct personality of a person. It is also every aspect that distinguishes
every human being from each other toward their character, looks, behavior, education, language,
life experience, ethnic group, skin color, and much more. All of these aspects distinguish every
human being.
From the moment I was born, my identity has been shaped through my parents and
ancestors way of life. Growing up both my parents families were very poor, and my father and
mother had to work hard to become who they are today. My paternal grandfather worked as a
culinary chef for a Catholics priest in Congo. Holding this position allowed my grandfather to
place his children in a Catholics school. Being able to attend school at that time was a privilege
not given to just anyone because education was just for the elite class. In 1976, my father
graduated from high school with honors and was awarded a scholarship to pursue his studies at
the University of Louvain in Belgium. He spent many years there and earned a Masters in
Mechanical Engineering. My mother on the other hand had a very difficult upbringing. Her
father, a citizen from Belgium, left behind his wife and children and returned to Belgium after a
civil war broke out in Congo. Several years later, my grandmother remarried to a Congolese
soldier. Her spouse took care of my mother and her sister. After my mother graduated from high
school, her step-father could not afford to pay for her to go to the university. Due to the fact that
her step -father could not pay her tuition, my mother worked two jobs to afford getting an

education. A couple of years later, my mother earned her Bachelor degree in economics at the
university of Kinshasa, Congo.
Going to all this difficulties in order to earn their degrees made my parents believe in the
importance of education. They see education as the key to success. For this reason, they are very
strict in regards to education with me as well as my siblings. The strict schedule during my
elementary school was as follow: every day when I got home from school I would be given a
snack and immediately after that I would start doing my homework, I would read a couple of
pages of a book out loud, and would have to memorize at least four to eight new words. Every
Friday, the elementary school I attended send a report envelope with all my progression in class
and what courses need improvement. One time my school report was not that great and because
of it my mother got very upset, she grounded me for two months. The punishment consisted of
not going out and play with friends. I was also forbidden to watch TV and play video games. In
order to help improve my grade, my mother hired tutors to help me at home with different
subjects. French and English were some of the courses that I struggled to master. After my grades
improved, I was allowed to resume play with my friends, watch TV, and play games. Tutors
continued to support me until I graduated from elementary. I learned from my parents to be
respectful to people no matter their social status, to be proud of my roots, to strive to become a
better person, to no limit myself, and to always seek new knowledge.
Even though I did well in most of my course and challenge myself to gain more
knowledge, English is one of the course I find difficult to learn and master. I am doing my best to
practice and putting extra hours to learn how to speak proper English, I still cannot speak
correctly because my mothers tongue is French. By the time I finish high school, I lost all
interests in learning how to speak English.it never occurred to me that one day my parents will

send me to study in the United States. I came here in 2010, and I had a difficult time to
communicate in English language. Fortunately, I was able to in enrolled and take English as my
second language, which allowed me to learn English in order to be able to communicate with
Americans. After I finished ESL classes, I tried to speak English without an accent because I
thought it will be easier for Americans to understand me better. Like Amy Tan narration in
mothers Tongue stated that she could not speak proper English because her mother spoke
broken English to her, also teacher were steering her away from writing and into math and
science because that is an Asian stereotype. Even though she was not good in English, she
pushed herself to major in English because she did not want to be stereotyped. Contrary to Amy
Tan, I embrace my accent and I do not want to lose it anymore because people started to identify
me that way. They are also intrigued by it and want to know more about me, my culture, and
where I am from. I decide to keep my accent because it is a part of my identity
Education and language play major roles in every human being identity. With education
you gain knowledge that helps you to build your confidence, and know what you can and cannot
do. Language on the side, identifies you from your culture, which make you who you are.