Identity Crisis Anyone?

When I was in high school I had to write a very emotional poem called "I Am From." Here's a snippet.

I am from
Foodless days, and foodless nights,
And, once in awhile, a good meal.

I am from
Musty cigarette smoke
Embedded in clothes, furniture, and teeth...

I am from
A dark corner on the floor
When everyone else got to have a bed...

I am from
"Get your education"
"You will never amount to anything"
"You were an accident"
"Go to your room" (the floor corner)
"You're so cute," and
"I hate you."

Ok so this is a snippet from the truthful poem I wrote in high school. Now this is where I am from, however this is not, and I repeat NOT who I am. I have not allowed this to become my identity and I will not allow anyone to push their ideas of what my identity should be.

Our identities are formed by many different factors both internally (such was the example), and externally (including media, friends, government, random people, and even the web). Taking on an identity takes an understanding of who you are, or what you believe in. There are two common beliefs Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf envisioned (known as the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis). These two beliefs are Linguistic Determinism--basically that language determines knowledge or thought; and Linguistic Relativism--language influences thought or action.

Take your pic on which one you believe in....does language and communication determine your identity or does it influence? I cannot make a sound judgment on which way I stand because I believe that our identity is just that, ours, and we make it what we can.