In everyone's lives there are times when they are forced to determine what is wrong and what is right. The way that they determine this is by their belief system, or in simpler terms, our identities. You will hear of so many people having "identity crisis", as well they should. In a world where people are afraid to walk out in the streets, in a world where people have to put on two faces to get ahead, its easy to see how people can get confused about themselves. An identity is what separates you and the person sitting next to you. Without identity people would all be similar to a bunch of lemmings dying a slow but deliberate social death. There are a myriad of reasons why people have the beliefs and identities that they do. Although many factors, including parents, schooling, friends and personal experiences, affect the way people's identities are formed, it is ultimately the decision of people themselves to create their true identities.
             The first influences on the lives of young children that could have a major effect on their identities are the parents and home life. It is because their parents are the people that they around the most as kids that this is the first influence. Common sense would dictate that kids who have a healthy, loving home life are more likely to have well-adjusted lives. This first influence has a profound impact on the life of every child, and unfortunately in today's world full of violence, vulgarities and sexual content, it is vital that the kids be shown quickly what is real and what is not.
             The next major influence on a young child's life is his friends. Seeing how another kid acts is a big deal to the children, because no one wants to be the sore thumb, the one who always gets picked on, therefore the children have a tendency to believe the same types of things as their friends. The third major influence on a child's younger years is his or her schoo...