Stewart 1

John Michael Stewart

Professor Agosta
UWRT 1102-002
3 October 2014
How Can A Place Makes You Who You Are?
Initial Inquiry Idea
In this class we have had the opportunity to read and discuss many different aspects and how
they can affect identity. We have seen that identity comes not only from how other view us, but how we
view ourselves and the labels or groups we accept or chose to be a part of shape our identity as well.
Through this study I became extremely curious as to how our identity can be shaped by the place we
grew up and the roots or connections we have there. This could be the actual house one lived in to the
surrounding neighborhood to the park down the street. This really intrigued me because while I have
always loved my family and the house I grew up in I will always consider Sanford and my grandmothers
house my home, even though I never once lived there. This made me what to know more about just
how much a place could shape who you are. So my starting question with this inquiry became how much
does the place you lived and the roots you have shape your identity?
Method
The way in which I will search into this is by questioning multiple people some who have lived in
the same house all their life like I have and a variety of people who have moved around. The variety of
people who have moved have to consist of people who have moved great distances and people who
have moved a high number of times. This will help to identify whether spending a substantial amount of
time at a place affects the connections you have to it.

Questions
1) How does the place you grew up and the roots or connections you have to it affect who
you are?
2) How do different experiences either change that identity or reinforce it?
a. Does everyone experience the same affects dependent on time spent?
b. How does where we grew up shape the labels we accept?
i. Heritage
ii. Country
iii. Religion
c. How does moving around or not shape whether or not we choose to travel later in
life?

Stewart 2
d. How does a place shape what we view as normal?
e. How does a place either connect or alienate us from others?