JOURNAL ENTRY NO.

THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES

This week was our first meeting with our new instructor, she made quite a impression on

me. Her attitude gave an uplifting feeling and only sent good vibes throughout her lecture. She

began the lecture with a fun game called bring me. She asked us to bring the item which

represents us the most, this really got me thinking "What do I really think of myself?" it took me

time to think and I did not pick up an item to show. Thus began our lesson on "SELF FROM

VARIOUS PERPECTIVES".

"Who are you?", a question that got many people thinking of a definition, I never thought

about it but I now realize the true self that we seek depends on what we decide to believe. On my

point of view, I can deeply agree on Freud’s Psychoanalytic view where he views as the self as

having conscious and unconscious parts. It mirrors on how I view myself where I accept the

existence of traits and behaviors in which I alone possess, I am aware of how I act uniquely apart

from others, and I can also assess other individual’s unconscious selves. Furthermore, the

unconscious side of myself is almost a blurry vision to me, but maybe clear as day to others. I

believe that the unconscious self plays the dominant influence in our personalities. It stores our

instinctual drives, our deepest thoughts, greatest desires, and feelings. Though it exists and

influences us throughout our lives, it is not directly observable.

Even though I have favored Freud’s view on the self, I have encountered many

definitions of the self during this activity, and there are also definitions of the self in which is
viewed in the perspectives of society and culture. Being a Filipino I can relate much on how

society and culture can cultivate one’s self. For me, I was raised by my parents to achieve the

standards in which society sees fit, as well as upholding the standards that we Filipinos can

accept as “successful”. On my own opinion, the sociological perspective of the self as well the

anthropological is the most widely accepted definition of the self by the masses and is the one

usually setting standards.

The first week of our lessons have helped me have a better understanding on the views of

the self, as well as help me create my own view of the self. It is true that the topic on the self is

complicated, however if not for this lesson, I would not have discovered the numerous views of

the self, and I would not have come to understand that everyone views the self differently. I am

pretty much excited for our future lessons and hope to discover more about the self.