People shape their self by knowing their self-identity, which means person’s definition of himself or herself. Identity is a quite broad concept, which includes in itself person’s social role and group memberships. For example, our ethnic group can shape our self on genetic level, and our chosen profession can tell other people what we do for life, and how motivated and hard working we are.

Self-identity also includes what person finds unique about himself. Each of us has his own personality traits that most of the time can predict our behavior. We shape our self by choosing an ideal, a person who we mostly admire of and get inspiration from. Relationships with family and friends matter a lot, as the even the things and events that happen to our loved ones may shape our self and have a strong effect on our mood.

Being a part of relationship also gives us an identity. Maintaining any sort of relationship is hard; therefore we gain a big amount of experience by being faithful to the partner. Especially a person is lucky if he finds a soul mate. Having a soul mate means that besides shaping your self, you can also find something new about your character. Relationships include hard work and honesty. Based on my own experience, I need to admit that being in relationships may provide you with a new point of view and in addition show something new about your inner self, a part of yourself you never knew about.

Creativity is a big part of shaping yourself, and also a great way to express one’s self in a unique way, the way only known to one person: you. Throughout the centuries artists have been working on their masterpieces all day and all night in order not only to show the beauty of things in this world to others, but also for practicing artistic skills. Shaping self in a creative area includes a lot of hard work and an inspiration. People make art to show this shaping of their self to others; they draw, so their works could speak for themselves, so the audience could see the vision that the artist is looking at the things with.

Our decisions and past experience can shape our self much as well. Although psychologists say that it is better not to feel emotionally dependent on our mistakes made in the past, it is still good to keep in mind some sad or bad memories. They shape our identity and in addition make us better, mentally stronger. We are learning to come through diverse types of situations, to make choices, and to take a risk. And it is very important to remember that no matter how big effects of the life experience affection is, it is still up to us how to react to it, what attitude to have towards the particular situation. Shaping one’s self by gaining experience from the past is an essential part of shaping one’s self and growing up.