Identity :)

1.)   In all honesty, I do have a different identity in different places; I think everyone does whether they like to admit it or not. I think I act differently in different places because I want others to see who I am in the way I want them to see me. Most people aren’t comfortable with themselves because they still don’t know who they are. So they keep trying to act like someone they’re not to be accepted in a group of any sort. In a way, we’re like animals; we try to adapt to our surroundings so we can fit in. Everyone in society wants to be accepted, we’re willing to do anything to be liked by a certain group of people. That’s why acting different in different places/situations is a good and bad thing. Good, because you’re ‘testing the water’ to try and discover yourself; bad, because people tend to be someone they’re not.
2.)   I do believe that our identities are like diamonds instead of mirrors. When a light shines through a diamond, many different colors shine through. This could be taken in a positive or negative way. A diamond is hiding all it's beautiful array of colors, until light goes through it. This is like people, we hide what we don't want anyone to see, but once we're in the spotlight and things tend to go our way, we start to show our true colors. In the sense that it's a bad thing is that we hide our true selves within us, and try to reflect many different personalities.
3.)   I think you can't change your identity mentally, but physically, yes. Gatsby may have changed his appearance to look like a popular socialite, but inside he still knew he was a poor farm boy. You can't change the person you are, but you can change the decisions you make to improve yourself, which is what Gatsby exactly did. He was still the farm boy from when he was a child, but he knew that's not who he wanted to be. So he made decisions to better himself to become the man he always wanted to be.
4.)   We are people. Simple as that. All of us are trying to find our place in life and I think that's what everyone is hoping to find out of it: a place of belonging.
5.)   I really don't think people can change. Who we are is who we are. We can have a "mind-set" to change ourselves, but we can't do that. We can make good decisions to IMPROVE ourselves, but NOT change. It's hard to explain, but humans like to have habits. If they find a habit that they like, they'll stick with it. Whether if it is a habit they realize or don't, they still follow a routine. Humans like to have consistency in their lives.