Caribbean Identity

Since the moment we enter the world the day of our birth, we are categorized under certain characteristics that will define who we are: gender, race, any illnesses, and so on. One of those characteristics depends on where you were born, and in my case I was identified as a Puerto Rican. Being Puerto Rican impacts greatly in my identity and in my perspective of life. If we concentrate more on how that affects my identity, there are many aspects that accentuate my caribbean identity.

            One of the aspects that contributes to what that Caribbean identity will be composed of depends on where you grew up. In the book The Roots of Caribbean Identity: Language, Race and Ecology, writer and author Peter Roberts talks about the idea of home and all the ways that can be interpreted: "Because the human being does not necessarily remain in one place through a lifetime, home is variable." That idea of what "home" is depends on the notion that person gives it. As Roberts said himself, home could be the place where you grew up, or where you where born, or the most interesting thing he says, it could also be what we would categorize as "where the heart is". In my case, home is all three of those things. I was born and raised here in Puerto Rico and my whole family is from the same place, which leads me to say that Puerto Rico is where my heart is. So, I guess I could say that idea of home influences in my identity greatly because it is the base of who I am, and it will be the root for all other aspects that could affect me.


            Because I am from Puerto Rico and I've lived my entire life here, my first language is Spanish. Speaking this language also gives me another aspect for others to be able to categorize me under a certain stereotype that they believe to be true. Language is much more powerful than what we would normally imagine, because it is one of the easiest ways to identify people, other then their looks, of course, but it can be so powerful that someone from Puerto Rico could speak such a fluent English that if that person went to the US, everyone there would think they are from that place. As Roberts states: "Language therefore establishes bonds between all communities of human beings, but at the same time sets up barriers between communities." It depends solely on the person that perceives all of this and, obviously, on the person transmitting it. 


            Now, we've noticed that through all this, identity is also given by others when they perceive certain characteristics portrayed by me. Here, we can also add what Roberts marks as sameness, in which if we conceive sameness, we also conceive differences. "The perception of sameness logically implies the perception of difference, which in turn implies that those who are perceived as different are treated differently." As I stated before, it all has to do with how people see us and how they categorize us into their personal stereotypes. Being from the Caribbean it may bring a lot of categorizations by the way we look, the way we act, how we speak, and where we are from. When we meet someone that has also lived in the Caribbean, or has a family member from where I live, it instantly creates a connection with that person. Others may see it as a factor used to distance that type of people from their social groups. It's just a game of perception, and how others see you and how you show yourself to them. 


            In conclusion, there are many factors that impact my Caribbean identity: what I call home, my language, how others see me, how I portray myself and many others. It all plays a huge part with who I am in the present, so I can continue with that identity through my life, or commit to some changes that could help me become a better version of myself, or a more acceptable one to others. It's all a matter of your perspective, and the perspective of others, and if I know who I am, and who I intend to be, I'll continue with my prosperous life knowing that each day will be better than the last even though we may have some rough patches in between.