Identity

Well... what is my identity? Our Advanced English class professor asked us to write about our identities but, honestly, I have pretty much no idea what to write. As most people do, I have a pretty hard time talking about myself because I don't want to seem presumptuous, but I also don't want to downplay any of my good qualities. Anyways, I'll give it a try. (I'll be using the article on "Identity" the professor linked to for help.)

I'm a 19 year-old, electrical engineering student at the University of Puerto Rico, and my name is Guillermo José Ramos Oquendo. I've lived in Puerto Rico my entire life, and as such, I've been raised around both the English and Spanish languages. I've heard people say that the language you think in is a big part of your identity, but I honestly divide my "thinking time" in both languages (if I have to put it in numbers, I'd say 60% English and 40% Spanish). Although I do love the island I was born in, I've always wanted to have experiences living in other places. I love to travel (even though I haven't done it much), and since my oldest sister lives in L.A., I spent June of 2013 visiting her. California is definitely a place I'd love to live in! I really liked L.A. but my favorite part of the trip was the weekend we spent in San Francisco. I've been told it's an expensive city to live in, but I was enamored with everything about it, and living there for at least a month is one of the top items in my bucket list. I digress... To close with this topic, I'd also really love to travel throughout the world, including Canada, Norway, Sweden, Colombia, Denmark, and New York, amongst many others. I'd also really like to go to Minnesota in summer, just so I could see and/or listen to my favorite animal, the loon.

As for my personality, I strive to be an approachable and likable person. I like to talk and smile a lot, but I usually prefer one on one or three to four people conversations over big groups. I'd also say that I'm a very loving person. One of my favorite quotes, and one that I try to apply to my life as much as possible, is the one (supposedly by Albert Einstein) that says: "Only a life lived for others is a life worth living." I don't believe it's the only life worth living, but it's an interesting philosophy that would make all of us happier if we followed it to some extent.

Finally, my hobbies. The thing I love doing most in the world is probably playing basketball; I play nearly every day, and for me it's a way to relax and take my mind off whatever other issues I may have for a while. Some of my other hobbies are playing billiards, following sports in general, listening to music, and reading, to name a few. I enjoy reading both novels (the Game of Thrones series, The Outsiders, and The Chocolate War are some of my favorites) and online articles about varied topics, mostly on science. My favorite website for the second type of reading is Cracked.com. It's a comedy website that, although sometimes slightly inaccurate, makes reading about science, history, psychology, and an extremely varied amount of topics less tedious and more enjoyable.

There's a lot more I could say about myself, but I crossed the 500 word limit long ago, so I'll cut it short right here. I hope this has given you an idea about who I am, and if you ever wish to know more, you're welcome to talk to me!