Friday, May 02, 2008

• Me, Myself, and I

  Currently Listening The Neptunes Present... Clones By The Neptunes see related

  How do we define ourselves? Just wondering. It's really late (I probably say that more than I should) and I really need to sleep (exam tomorrow...). But when I find an idea in my head, I want it out as soon as possible aha. So I really wanted to talk about a subject that's been discussed for as long as anyone can remember: identity. What is it? How do we develop it? As a psych major, the subject of identity is always brought up. It could be talked about for hours and since it's already 3:30 in the morning, I'll be real quick with my thoughts, yea?
  
  When I think of identity, like most people, I think about what makes me....well, me. I think about the things I've gone through (good or bad), the people I've known, the way I was brought up. Basically, I've always considered my identity to be the culmination of everything that's ever happened in my life. From the time I was exposed to hip hop to my first mosh pit. From my first A+ to my first F. Every moral and lesson that was every instilled in me, too. All of this contributed to who I considered to be me.
  
  Ok so I was having a really nerdy conversation with one of my friends haha. It was actually based on this same topic. We talked about how people define themselves and what might contribute to their identities. Putting aside special cases that might alter or "split" one's identity (such as child abuse), we came to the conclusion that the way in which people define themselves may depend a lot on age. For teenagers, a big part of identity is due to the media. Ok ok, I know what you're thinking. Another person blaming TV, music, movies, video games, etc. But it's not like that.
  
  Think about it. Teenagers...they might associate themselves with a specific music genre, dress accordingly, and just like that they're one of the many "punk kids" in the world. That's who they are, at least for the moment. You can make this same case with almost any kind of personality, yea? Gamers, goth kids, hip hop kids, movie buffs, sneaker heads, skaters, athletes, musicians, even bookworms. The media paints different images for different people. It presents certain "lifestyles", makes them look appealing, and, naturally, teens look to be part of those groups. Granted, how these teens identify themselves are most probably not solely reliant on the media. But it's hard to think that the media doesn't play some part in it, right?
  
  So, adults. I feel like a big part of how adults define themselves depends on what they do. Not even talking about their job or occupation, either. My mom defines herself as a mother of three, a wife, a sister, a daughter, and a nurse practitioner haha. I guess as you grow older, you start to be more practical. There's no need to associate with a certain group or deviate from society. Sure, it's probably not as simple as I'm making it out to be but maybe life is just simpler later on. I don't know how many 50 year olds are gonna be calling themselves sneaker heads anytime soon aha.
  
  Ok, so I just sped through that in like 15 minutes so my thoughts are all over the place. Identity is just such a broad topic that I'm not even touching on how people might define themselves characteristically, more generally, than anything. Plus, I might be completely off the mark in everything I just said and I know I'm missing a lot so I'm sorry for wasting your time haha.
  
  
  
  Up WAY too late...Goodnight!
  
  Almost forgot....Anyone from Jersey willing to take MYMP ticket off my hands? No charge! My cousin is cousins with Chin and got the hookup. First one to ask gets them haha so lemme know ASAP.
  
  
  
  
  Oh and....what did one volcano say to the other?
  ....I lava you.
  
  
  
  

  • 3:46 AM
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