Shaping My Identity

This week in my psychology class, we're talking about personality. The idea my proessor shared with us the other day is that who we are has an effect on what kind of personality we have, which begged the question that she wrote up on the board. Who are you?
Underneath the question, she wrote, "I am...". She asked us to finish this sentence twenty times. Sounds like a lot, right?
So I started writing.
I am...a wife.
I am...a mother.
I am...a Mormon.
I am...a daughter of God.
I am...a suicide survivor.
I stopped, and I literally almost cried. Right there. In the middle of class. I just needed a break. I couldn't believe I had literally just taken pen to paper and had written those words. I've blogged about my experience with being left behind because of suicide, but there's just something about seeing the phrase handwritten in my personal script.
In trying hard not to release any tears, I looked down and saw that I was not only wearing my most recent Out of the Darkness t-shirt, but I was also wearing the jacket I had earned as an incentive for raising a certain amount of money for the organization.
I picked up my pencil and continued writing.
I am...an advocate.
I am...the change.
I did feel a little silly giving myself so much credit, but that thought went away rather quickly.
When my brother died, the only thing that kept me going is advocating for those who struggle with the same things he did. His death and the way it happened--as much as I hate it--is a part of my identity. I will never be the person I was before his suicide. Never.
But why be dealt a card that you have to live with for the rest of your life and not make something worthwhile out of it?
I've literally decided to take the sourest of lemons and make lemonade, and that's through being the change in how the world views suicide, and how it can be prevented.
The shift in my identity since Christian died is the sole reason why I drafted post after post asking for donations to a foundation I truly believe is making a difference. It's the reason why I changed my major. It's the reason why I share so many mental health articles on social media. It's the reason why I'm so concerned with my friends when I know they're having a difficult time--even if it is just because of an upcoming exam causing unrelenting stress.
Just like with any of the other "I am..." phrases I came up with, my identity drives me to act. Being a wife leads me to check in with my husband to make sure he'll be okay if I go out with a girlfriend. Being a mom means putting my child before myself, talking mostly about them on social media, and missing them even when I'm gone for a few hours. Being a Mormon means everything in my life is centered on my beliefs--what I wear, what movies I see, how I spend my Sundays. Being a daughter of God means that I come from heavenly parents, who love me, that I am divine, and I try to treat myself as such.
Being a suicide survivor means I can't stand idly by and watch other families suffer the way mine has. It's who I am, and it's who I've been shaping up to become over the past year and a half since I was struck by suicide.
What experiences have you had that have shaped your identity to be what it is today? Who are you?