Integration

Humanity have gone a long way of comprehending how the world and the universe
works, but the bigger quest remains unanswered for an individual attempting to understand
oneself. For an ordinary person preoccupied with all the affairs of life in many facets,
understanding the self may seem to be an underrated need in the pursuit of development.
However, the self is more than just an identity for it is involved in all of life’s processes and thus,
it must be maneuvered in every aspects it is involved with. It is then imperative to nurture an
understanding of oneself in a way it puts into the picture the various perspectives of it.
In the perspective of Philosophy, I have seen myself as a living substantial being that is
in the gradual pursuit of understanding the nature of my existence. What I have contemplated
from the popular ideas raised is that I am literally a whole physical anatomy that includes my
brain where the mind resides, to which my mind tells me that there is something more to myself
than just that. It helped me initiate seeking the essence of my consciousness, tracing my
origins, and knowing the technicalities of being a human.
When looking into the sociological perspective, I have adopted the idea that it is within
my nature to behave as a social being, regardless of my conscious awareness. I have seen the
inevitability of belongingness to a society and how the society takes its place as a crucial factor
in the development of a person. I came into a realization that my sense of purpose doesn’t
solely revolve around my individuality but also in my role in the advancement of society which in
return, influences me significantly. It led me to the thought that I am a pixel in the big picture.
As a part of a society, I have also learned to view myself in the anthropological
perspective where I get to be specific to myself as to which community do I belong to and how I
would fit myself in that. I have been able to grasp how being a Filipino and Oriental heavily
influenced my upbringing and my cultural being. I have observed my personality shifting through
the languages I use and how I differ with other people in putting meaning to things due to
variation of interpretation of symbols evoked from things around me. It made me compare the
differences of my public, private, and collective self and weigh the balance in handling it.
In analyzing through the psychological perspectives, it had been revealed to me the fact
that even though the human mind is subjective, we have been able to get a closer
understanding of it through science and research. The perspectives given has helped me
assess myself, know my desires and what I evade, and understand my behavior objectively as I
developed a more organized knowledge of what goes on in the mind. Through it, I have been
enlightened to the truth that I am a psychological being with rationality and instincts to set into
harmony.
The four perspectives have aided me in knowing what to take into considerations, what
to put first, and the things I unknowingly neglected along the way. It was a reminder for me to
take time to look at the mirror and remember that life goes on, not just on what is happening
around me but also myself that resides within me. It led me to the conclusion that the world is
also just as complex as myself and understanding more of me would lead to a greater fulfilment
that only I could determine and define. So then, these lessons have been the key to seeking
how I could posit myself internally and externally. Indeed, there are more to myself that I have
yet to uncover.