learntoquestion ltq discussions

Our identity is shaped by how we see ourselves and how others portray us. When we were young, “childhood was once constructed and recorded by adults and married back to children,” but now “young people create images and put them into circulation without the interference of adults” (Renner 2). Through this, the identity is no longer handed down by generations, but actively self-shaped. As we take selfies more often than not, our identities are meant to be represented, rather than literal reality, highlighting the twist between personal and social identities, although not identical. Our individual identities shape our choices in social and personal settings. Eichhorn adds that technology “allows us to produce a narrative of our lives, to choose what to remember and what to contribute to our own mythos” (Renner 2). Producing a narrative about our lives means for people to actively select our identities, by deciding which parts of themselves to show off or hide. Social identity and personal identity are connected as the identity we project becomes absorbed into the posts showing off our social identities. Someone’s narrative that they made online, their photos, posts, becomes a part of how society defines them. The choice of identity belongs to the individual themself, but once it becomes public, can also shape how others respond to them, label, and restrict them to an extent. Social identity can also limit personal growth, with old posts turning to prevent someone from leaving behind one's past. However, the two are intertwined, with personal identity not being able to exist in isolation and social identity further reshaping our personal stories that are sought to be shared. The topic of identity being really malleable is at question. As the internet can be seen as a free space to experiment, it still traps people in their earlier versions of themselves. Eichhorn warns that “the potential danger is no longer childhood’s disappearance, but rather the possibility of a perpetual childhood” (Renner 3). The idea puts forward that something remaining online forever may prevent people from progressing in life. Traditionally, adolescence is a period of trial and error, where one’s mistakes can fade away and new versions of someone can form. Digitally, these experiments may remain frozen, which can reshape how society allows an individual to grow. All in all, personal identity is only told by the self, with social identity having to be authored with others, making the two overlap. In essence, society’s memory can make for personal reinvention to be more difficult then ever.

Our interactions, first impressions, and pre-set notions shape how we see ourselves, how others see us, and how we see others. While all of these are important, our initial impressions and interactions lay the foundation for how we continually see others and how they see us. Additionally, whatever we hear regarding these people deeply shapes the way we perceive them. For example, if we hear a rumor about someone, we are more likely to believe it, especially if we don’t know them, leading to those harmful biases making it harder to form genuine connections.

On the other hand, the identity vessels made me realize that internal items profoundly form a person on how they view themselves, and what they consider to be important, but whatever was showcased on the outside is how we try to make others perceive us. I personally like the idea of people putting their social media on the outside, such as Juliette’s, because that’s a great way of how people perceive us, by the way we present ourselves on social media. Of course, no one posts their entire life on social media, but these moments that we post make up our social identities, whereas the identities that we don’t post or the more special moments would begin to make up our personal identities. With this being said, personal identities are more thorough and authentic, whereas social identities tend to be much more superficial in my opinion.

Furthermore, when we are alone, personally reflecting, we are much more up-front, rather than socially where we might put up our walls or not be as transparent to what we believe in, which often leads to conformity. Conformity is much more likely to occur when in public and when there’s a group of majority. Despite this project being publicly displayed I feel like we didn’t conform as much and stayed true to our real identities. I have a feeling that if we had changed and did something more presentation style and shared it in front of the entire class, that we might have had many more conformists, and not share some of the deepest parts of ourselves. In the poem "Identity", Julio Noboa Pollanco writes: “ I'd rather be unseen, and if then shunned by everyone/than to be a pleasant-smelling flower/growing in clusters in the fertile valley/where they're praised, handled, and plucked/by greedy, human hands”(13-18). This quote reinforces the idea that social conformity has its damaging effects, but also how important it is to maintain self and personal identity in our daily lives.The author gravitates to the isolation of her beliefs, rather than the conformity of what’s popular. This idea is showcased through the difference in everyone’s projects, whether it be a shoebox, a cd case, a jewelry box, etc. Even the physical vessel, the decorations/color schemes, and the items are all ways that connect to perception, and how it varies amongst people. Adding on, people thought that including real personal and expensive items displayed their identities, like a digital camera or a speaker, while I personally didn’t admire that, it didn’t make me think less of them because we have different views of what value is to us. Some may think it’s tangible items, while others might hold on to the memories created and shared.

In this class and through our identity vessel, I have learned that it’s not necessary to have negative pre-conceived notions about your peers, but rather important after first impressions to keep an open mind, and be willing to say “this is definitely not what I imagined them to be like”. Overall, this project has taught me a lot about the power of perception and perspective, how such an internal thing can alter our relationships and connections from its fullest potential.

I learned a lot about my peers from their identity vessels, whether they chose that specific object to represent who they are because they like the object, it holds great significance, or they were just lazy. I also learned that many people in various sections have the same interests as me that I never knew about. Yes I was surprised by some of the vessels because many people had some things that I wouldn’t even think about that were important to them. These vessels relate to what I learned about the concept of identity because some vessels were something important from a person’s culture so I found that interesting. What shapes us as individuals and how we see ourselves and how others perceive us is the environment and circumstances that bring one another together. Our individual identities impact our personal and social choices because of the social pressure that we may feel in these groups and societies that we grew up in. Personal identity is way different than social identity because personal identity is who someone actually is, without hiding it due to social pressure or being scared of sharing it in general. While on the other hand social identity is more like how a person wants to be perceived in their community, whether that be to appeal to that certain group or to fit in. It is possible to have the same social and personal identity if someone doesn’t mind putting themselves out there. I think our identity is definitely malleable, this is because society today can for sure limit our ability to change and grow. It could also hinder our ability to change, or under the right circumstances, is able to greatly help us change throughout life. Examples of society that could make our malleable: Race and identity, family, social media, and even school/work. Although I feel like society plays a big role in shaping who a person is, I also believe that a person is able to overcome hardships that society has thrown at them and grow in that way. Psychological theories have changed humans’ willingness to view and accept the identities or growth of others such as cognitive dissonance as well as Freud’s impact in psychoanalysis in general, these have made people aware of human behavior and thought processes.

How we see others is shaped by what they present to us. We can judge them on their appearance, the words they say, or based on others around them. How we see ourselves is impacted by our self-esteem, what others think of us, and our personal beliefs. All of our choices are rooted in how we identify ourselves. If we believe wholeheartedly that something is wrong, there is a lower chance that we will do that thing. If we disagree with someone fundamentally, that may impact how we address them. I think that social identity is different from personal identity because it has to do with outside influences. They both impact how we act and think but social identity involves being part of a group. That could be religious, academic or anything else. They are connected because they both have an influence on how we act. Our identity is really malleable. Depending on our surroundings we can change the way we act or the way we dress to find a sense of belonging. Sometimes I feel like our environment hinders us from changing because once people see us in one way, they usually don’t change their minds. On the other hand, our environment can really impact how much we grow as people. Being exposed to new things can allow us to learn and change throughout our lives. I do believe that sometimes it is hard to see and accept change in people. I think it's because it's easy to create notions about someone and it's hard to re-learn things about people, that is why sometimes views of a person don’t change. It also plays into the willingness to change a viewpoint. If the topic is present enough that remaining unchanged is not helpful, then someone's viewpoint will change almost by force. However, if it is comfortable to love or hate, or feel any other emotion towards someone than changing, or being temporarily uncomfortable is challenging and may feel like a daunting task.

By observing the identity vessels I learned what is important to my peers. I realized that many of us share the same values of faith and family, but express them in different ways. I learned about the sports they play or where their parents are from. I learned what music they listen to and how they spend their time. I was surprised to see that many of my peers are immigrants like me or first generation Americans. I learned that many of them had the same love for music that I did, or played a big role in the lives of family and friends. I was reminded through the vessels that identity is intersectional and even though I see people on the outside, I can’t judge them automatically. Even if the judgment isn’t always bad, it is not fair to them even if it is easier for me.

Things that shape how we see ourselves are based on our life experiences and interactions up to that point. Through this, we form our own personal ideas and beliefs, as well as our personalities. How others see us is driven by what surrounds us in our everyday lives. Things such as societal norms, which are subjective to where you live as we have discussed in class, social media, family and friends, and certain activities are important to that idea. This would be the same case for how we see others. They also feed into our personal and social choices. It is an innate trait for someone to initially associate with people who look like them. Then, there are shared hobbies and activities, social and political stances, and even the presence of cultural identity. Personal and social identities are connected because our initial and immediate personal identity helps to drive your eventual social identity. Most commonly, like previously mentioned, associating with people of the same interests and ideals as you will reflect those things.I believe that our identity is malleable. There will always be certain big experiences in our life, whether bad or not. Those will always have an impact on us, and whether the decision is conscious or unconscious, some things that are of value to us might change, whether it's how you view something or what you believe in. Unfortunately, society continues to limit this ability to evolve. We rely so heavily on the approval of others, that we limit the ability to think and try things freely. Although, it goes beyond that, as just society as a whole limits this growth with certain pressures and “ideals”, especially against the minorities in the world. This overall limitation shows why it has become hard for us as humans to accept certain changes, specifically through social conformity. Self-acceptance has been nearly lost. One important thing I learned about my peers' identity vessels is how well that BLS promotes the idea of personal identity and acceptance, and how it has continued to help all of us find that. Seeing all the things I did, some about peoples families, values, choices in music, favorite candies, or even celebrity crushes, it was a real a-ha moment, but also appreciation, for I've realized that it has done the same for me. All of them collectively contribute the idea of social/academic conformity. As we all had to do these ourselves, there was no outside influence on what you included in it other than some family perhaps. It keeps the integrity of all of these pieces, which is awesome to see, but also makes me think what they would look like if we had done them in a group setting?

I think our sense of self is shaped by various factors during our life. To start, I think that family has a massive role in how we form interests and personality, especially earlier in life. Family can introduce you to hobbies, sports, and new people. Friends can also shape our sense of self, in similar ways as family, but as we grow and mature. Knowing a diverse group of people can make us more interesting as a whole, and many of our personality traits can be attributed to who we know.

I think our identity is a malleable thing, but our personality is harder to change. Our morals, often shaped by friends and family early in life, make us who we are, and are less malleable. Small changes in our life can change our identity, something as small as meeting someone new. I think that the way a group behaves can easily influence us to change our outward identity, as we want to conform and align with others. We learned about this in class with mob mentality, as we can change our beliefs to conform, but our morals change less easily. I think that social psychological theories impact humans' willingness to view and accept the identities or the growth of others because we are subconsciously forced to fit into groups, and we often adopt personality traits from a place of wanting to belong.

I learned that many of my peers have hobbies that I wasn't aware of, and share many of their hobbies with friends. My peers also are influenced by their families, and have cultural traditions that they share with their families. I was surprised that some of my peers have hobbies that don't fit their personalities. From what I learned in class, I made assumptions about how personalities connected to their hobbies, but hobbies don't necessarily relate directly to personality. I also think the vessels relate to what we have read in class as most people picked more surface level things, even on the inside of their vessel, which connects to mob mentality and the fear of standing out from the crowd.

The concept of “Who am I?” is an ever ongoing, lifelong struggle. We all have different and incredibly complex aspects that make us who we are. As explained by “The Complexity of Identity: Who Am I?” by Beverly Daniel Tatum, overall, how we see ourselves is largely based on what we are told by others, and what we do with that information. Groups of people marginalized in society are often put down by the dominant or opposing group of people due to being “different from the perceived (mythical) norm”, and as such, can internalize disparaging comments said about them. They can feel like something is wrong with them; that they need to change or hide that aspect of themselves. Most often, they are underrepresented in the media, where either only the dominant group of people or a caricature of a marginalized group is represented.

On the contrary, people who fall into the dominant or more prevalent category of people often form an echo chamber. They can struggle or even refuse to acknowledge the faults in the divided society they created to lift themselves up, while also making little effort to understand people different from themselves, either or both because of lack of exposure or lack of willingness to try. However, all of us, in some ways, are marginalized, and all of us, in some ways, are dominant. As a society, I believe that we think about marginalization most commonly in regard to race, but whether it be in race, sexuality, religion, or otherwise, there is always some part of ourselves that sticks out, and as such, as a whole, we need to be more understanding of others’ struggles, and not compare them.

Unfortunately, I am a “judge a book by its cover” kind of person. In truth, I believe that this kind of thinking is our nature - on a primal level, it’s better to assume things on a first look than to be open to everything and just have things happen to us. But I think this is also an issue. I often overlook the deeper aspects of who a person is; if it’s not obvious from what I perceive at a first glance, I don’t consider their struggles. But again, everybody is complex and multi-faceted, and everybody has aspects of themselves that others don’t understand or don’t consider about them. However, the Identity Vessel project allowed me to have a window into each person’s view of themselves, and therefore, allowed me to better understand people, and more broadly, be more open minded.