Identity is simply defined as the characteristics determining who or what a person or thing is. Elements or characteristics of identity would include race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical attributes, personality, political affiliations, religious beliefs, professional identities, and so on.

Some aspects of our personal identity include our skin color, ethnicity, religion. A lot of the time, our race and ethnicity play a significant role in how we see ourselves, especially if we feel that we are different from the majority of those who live in the same community.

A unique identifier (UID) is a numeric or alphanumeric string that is associated with a single entity within a given system. Unique identifiers can be assigned to anything that needs to be distinguished from other entities, such as individual users, companies, machines or websites.

Personal identity, then, is not something given nor stable, but the process – at least to some extent self-chosen – that explains change and connectedness of a particular person over time. However, these different selves are all part of the same person and can change over time.

The process of developing an identity begins with the infant’s discovery of self, continues throughout childhood, and becomes the focus of adolescence. Identity is multidimensional and may include physical and sexual identity, occupational goals, religious beliefs, and ethnic background.

Identity markers are defined in part by the definition given by the culture and community around us. Using the pen metaphor, what one person smells as tasty red cherry may be offensive cough syrup to another. The definition of an identity marker can change over history as well as how we view ourselves over time.

Identity is the qualities, beliefs, personality, looks and/or expressions that make a person (self-identity as emphasized in psychology) or group (collective identity as pre-eminent in sociology). One can regard the awareness and the categorizing of identity as positive or as destructive.