What mirrors don’t tell us

927 words

As Bruce Lee once said, “Be formless, shapeless, like water. You put water into

a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it

into a teapot, it becomes the teapot.” We are what we shape ourselves to be. For me,

this quote greatly describes our self and how our identity is formed. At some point in our

lives, we have come to think about ourselves and think things such as why do we like

the things we like? Why do we treat a person differently from the others? Why are we

like this? And most of us have definitely asked ourselves this question, why am I

different from other people?

Reading the research chapter our professor gave us broadened my knowledge

about the self, self-concept and identity. I learned that the self is a feeling that

something is about “me” or about “us”. Self-concept is the awareness of having

thoughts or existence. It is how one describes and view oneself through our own

thoughts. I realized that self-concept influences us on what we are and what we may

possibly be. It is the reason for our self- esteem and personality in which we project in

life, giving us our identity. Identity on the other hand is what defines a person, it is what

makes you, you that differentiates you from other people. It is how you will see yourself

and what people will see you as and think of you. It gave me a sense that no person

can have the same identity, even twins. We all have different personalities, bodies and

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our own beliefs and perceptions that people will use to identify us. Two persons can

both be tall, masculine

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 and has a deep voice but that would not mean they are the same, both person

have different types of masculinity and doesn’t have the same deep voice. There will

always be that one unique trait that would differentiate us from others. I also realized

that our identities and self-concept are not determined when we are born, it develops

and changes throughout the course of our lives.

With all the things that I have learned, there are still things that I am still confused

and concerns me. First is does the self or our physical wellbeing responsible for our

self-concept and identity? If the self is supposed to be the feeling of “me” or “us”, in

what way does the self influence our thoughts or self-concepts? My second concern

relates to our self-identity. If we know what we are, then why do people still look at us

differently? Why is our identity different from other people’s perspective? I can be the

quiet one from others but be the loud one from others, I can be the tall one but be the

short one from others. It still confuse me because I know that we all have unique traits

but people would disagree when they talk and describe about a person. Is our identity

determined not from our self or self-concepts but from other people’s perspective? My

third concern is about the relationship between the self-concept and the identity. If our

self-concept helps us on our self-identity, then how is it possible for people to hide what

they truly are? People can give a totally different identity than what they describe

themselves to be. Was it because of their self-concept that they hide their true nature or

are they really being true to themselves? I find it confusing when it comes to our identity

and how people identify us.

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 The three things that helped me answer this essay was first, I find the most

important details that would help me gather those information that would help me

understand this lesson about self and self-identity. Then I used notepad that would to

store those information making sure that I would not forget those information that I

gathered. And finally, with the topic about self and identity, I thought about the times

where I reflect about myself. That helped me the most answer this essay because I

usually compare myself from others and I am conscious of what people think of me.

With all those information and my thoughts and experience, I was able to accomplish

answering this essay.

After learning this topic, I just want to ask questions regarding this lesson. First is

how does one keep true to himself / herself? People, including me tend to put on a

mask in front of other people just to blend in with them. Covering yourself with a mask

that doesn’t really represent what you are is a common problem most people face.

Second question is how does one have a positive look on themselves so that they can

stop comparing themselves to others? Insecurity makes a low self-esteem and people

tend to degrade themselves. And for my final question, what should we do to better

understand ourselves? If finding our passion in life is not enough, what are the other

things that we should practice to better understand our journey to find ourselves?

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 In conclusion to what I have learned, self, self-concept and self-identity are the 3

most important things that makes up a person. Self refers to “me” and “us” and also our

physical wellbeing. A positive self-concept is very important because it influences what

we think and actions that we do and self-identity is what you see yourself as. We have

the ability to change how we think out ourselves despite what others may say to you.

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