Gabrielle Ouano

BSMATH 1-A
Understanding Self
ACTIVITY 1.1 Song Analysis: Reflection

Reflection is about a girl who hides who she is in order to live up to the expectations of others
around her. I have related some of the song’s stanzas to events or occurrences that happened
in my life. In the song Reflection, it says, "I can fool the world, but I cannot fool my heart." I've
related that I had this identity where I could not express how I truly felt or thought about the pain
I had while dating my ex. Jasten had made up my identity for him. My ex-boyfriend, Jasten, has
shaped me into the person he wants to date. Because I was still finding myself when he first met
me and because he chooses to see what he wants to see rather than what is actually
happening, he did not truly know me for who I really am. I wanted to finally come out as myself
because I was curious about what might happen if my life had turned out differently. Like, what if
I had already found myself before Jasten found me? The line that struck me the most in the
song, "I can fool the world, but I cannot fool my heart," nearly reflects on how I can mask my
emotions yet find it difficult to express them. This idiom also captures the terrible nature of life
because I constantly try to hide who I really am because society will only accept me if I don't
stand out. I can relate this to the philosophical thought of Rene Discartes; Self is reason or
consciousness. I know myself better than anyone else. Always be yourself. You can't worry
about what other people think or how they will react. You truly have "to thine own self be true."