Enrichment · Wellbeing

Write your way toward
who you are.

Who you are is not one answer, and it does not have to be finished. Pick a theme, such as roots, values or who you are becoming, write a question and answer it for now. Rate how central it feels and where that part of you gets room to show. Over months the journal becomes a record of what stays steady and what you are still working out.

Write a reflectionWhat you get

Reflections

The worked example is made up: four reflections written over a month by a high school junior. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Enrichment · WellbeingFree

What you finish with
An entry per reflection: the theme (one of eight), the question, your answer, how central it feels (1 to 5), where that part of you shows, whether it is steady, growing or being rethought, and a question you are still working on. Shows how many themes you have written about, the theme that feels most central, where things show up most and how many are being rethought; flags a central part of you with room in only one place.
Who it is for
Students in grades 6 to 12 and college; English, advisory and health teachers who assign identity writing.
Format
Browser journal with a saved entry per reflection. Prints one reflection, every reflection in a table or a blank page; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Wellbeing space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Choose a theme. Start with whichever one you have the most to say about.
  2. Write the question in your own words, then answer it for now.
  3. Rate how central it feels to who you are.
  4. Tick where that part of you shows, and whether it is steady, growing or being rethought.
  5. Come back in a month and write the same question again.

Write a reflection

How identity takes shape

Identity has more than one layerGivenFamily, heritage andlanguage.Where you grew up.Roles you were handed,like older sibling.ChosenInterests you return toon your own.Values you act on whenit costs something.Friends and groups youpick.BecomingThe person you hope tobe.The one you hope not tobecome.Questions you have notsettled yet.Identity has more than one layerGivenFamily, heritage and language.Where you grew up.Roles you were handed, like older sibling.ChosenInterests you return to on your own.Values you act on when it costs something.Friends and groups you pick.BecomingThe person you hope to be.The one you hope not to become.Questions you have not settled yet.
Teenagers and young adults are not expected to have identity settled. Exploring, trying things on and changing your mind are how it gets built.

Exploring is the work

Psychologist Erik Erikson described adolescence as a time for trying out roles, values and beliefs before committing to them. Later researchers found that young people who explore before committing tend to hold their commitments more firmly.

Possible selves

Picturing who you might become, and who you want to avoid becoming, can shape what you do now. In a school study, students who worked on their possible selves and the steps toward them improved their attendance and grades.

Roots matter

A secure sense of where you come from, including heritage and language, is linked with wellbeing in many studies of teenagers. If questions about identity feel heavy or unsafe to talk about at home, a school counselor is a good person to talk with.

Sources

  1. Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and Crisis. W. W. Norton.
  2. Oyserman, D., Bybee, D., and Terry, K. (2006). Possible selves and academic outcomes: how and when possible selves impel action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91(1), 188 to 204.
  3. Umaña-Taylor, A. J., et al. (2014). Ethnic and racial identity during adolescence and into young adulthood: an integrated conceptualization. Child Development, 85(1), 21 to 39.
  4. McAdams, D. P., and McLean, K. C. (2013). Narrative identity. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(3), 233 to 238.
  5. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (988lifeline.org): call or text 988, chat online, 24 hours a day.

The worked example is made up. This journal is private writing for reflection; it is not an assessment. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.