We are all in a process of figuring out who we are and where we fit in in our world. When I look at myself in middle school I remember how dependent I was on other people's affirmation of what kind of music to like, what to wear, and what to be interested in. I wanted to be interesting, unique, fun, and yet I wanted to make sure I was interesting, unique and fun by others standards. When we walk around trying to figure out who we think others want us to be we lose so much of who we were made to be and it's SO exhausting! I think we've all gone through this kind of phase, and unfortunately many of us still struggle with this and may struggle with it for the rest of our lives. I don't think we will ever figure everything about our who we are but we get to be on this discovery of what we're interested in, what were passionate about, and what brings life to us. It has been a long time coming but it was my prayer and still is that I would be a very consistent person. Now, this doesn't mean that I live a mundane, routine kind of life but what I mean is that I am consistently staying true to who I am in every situation; no matter who I'm with. I'm not going to pretend that I've "made it to the top of the mountain" but I can see how far I have come and how much more comfortable I am in my own skin. I have to stay grounded and level headed and to do that I MUST have time to myself, in peace, alone, in the stillness. In these quiet times is when I am able to reflect on my day. It has always been a goal of mine to become a great journal-er and I am proud to say that I think I'm making some sort of progress. I think for us to be able to perceive ourselves and to present ourselves in a positive, consistent manner we have to know who we are and I think we figure those things out in those times of rest. We also learn a lot about ourselves as we get ourselves in uncomfortable and unfamiliar situations. I think those are the times we learn a lot about who we truly are and what our friends a truly about. Those times of being unsure are defiantly not always the most beautiful times but I believe that they are needed and they may be the most honest times.
With all of that said I am working first and foremost to genuinely perceive myself in a way that is reflecting to the things I stand upon; my faith. And through that I will be able to effectively let other people know who I am, what I'm about, my strengths and weaknesses. Even though, for most of us, it is scary to allow those around us to truly get to know how we work we must recognize that we were each created so differently and that is such a good thing. We have each been given different skill sets and different talents because if we were all walking around being good at the same thing, talking the same ways, having the same hair or being the same height, our world would look a lot less beautiful and we would have a lot less purpose.
When did you struggle the most with fighting with yourself about who you are?
What influenced those feelings the most?
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Perceptions, the good and the bad
I feel like I could blog about how physical characteristics, psychological state, cultural background and gender affect my perceptions of the world around me for such a long time. So, I am going to try to condense my thoughts down and discuss the how physical characteristics affect the way I perceive different people.
I think most of us would like to believe we don't have nay presumed thoughts or biases about certain people or people groups but unfortunately that isn't the case. We have all grown up in completely different situations and we have each experienced and been affected by life in such unique ways. A lot of this is very positive because we each bring different perspectives to the table and we get to help each other out in seeing a bigger picture of what the world looks like. But on the other hand we also inhibit ourselves by some of our perceptions because many times they are not fully true and we miss out on opportunities to get to know other people. In the culture we live in physical attributes are very highly regarded for most people. Many of us have decided that the way we dress and our body shape says a lot about who we are as people. For me, body type has been quite a focus throughout my life. Anyone who has seen me notices two things right away. 1. I am extremely tall for a woman and 2. My hair is curly and huge. Today I have come to love both of these aspects about myself, I truly have. But this has not always been a case. I remember growing up and feeling like a giant in a sea full of short, cute people. I have always been much bigger than my closest friends and growing up I was the tallest in the class; taller than all of the boys. So as a awkward middle school student these aspects were not what I looked at as positive. These aspects have helped in shaping me as an individual. If I wasn't as tall as I am I would take for granted things like, finding jeans that were long enough and what it feels like to always stand out in a crowd. I have been so much more sensitive to other people and I have been put in situations to encourage other people, especially girls, about their body image. We have each been given the bodies we have for a specific reason. We are not a screw-up or a mistake. If we all looked the same things would be pretty darn boring. So, in this aspect I feel like it's been very positive.
On the flip side, at times I have some negative perceptions about people who I feel have "never" struggled with their body shape. This, obviously, is not the case. But I find myself subconsciously looking at people (specifically girls) who are what the world believes to be the "perfect size" and the "perfect height" and I become quite cynical. Thankfully, I know that no matter how "perfect" someone may look on the outside, we ALL struggle with the way we look and feel about who we are. It's been my prayer that I would be so careful about judging people because when we make those assumptions it's not just the physical characteristic we are judging, but we are actually judging the whole being of that person.
How do physical attributes affect the way you view at other people?
I think most of us would like to believe we don't have nay presumed thoughts or biases about certain people or people groups but unfortunately that isn't the case. We have all grown up in completely different situations and we have each experienced and been affected by life in such unique ways. A lot of this is very positive because we each bring different perspectives to the table and we get to help each other out in seeing a bigger picture of what the world looks like. But on the other hand we also inhibit ourselves by some of our perceptions because many times they are not fully true and we miss out on opportunities to get to know other people. In the culture we live in physical attributes are very highly regarded for most people. Many of us have decided that the way we dress and our body shape says a lot about who we are as people. For me, body type has been quite a focus throughout my life. Anyone who has seen me notices two things right away. 1. I am extremely tall for a woman and 2. My hair is curly and huge. Today I have come to love both of these aspects about myself, I truly have. But this has not always been a case. I remember growing up and feeling like a giant in a sea full of short, cute people. I have always been much bigger than my closest friends and growing up I was the tallest in the class; taller than all of the boys. So as a awkward middle school student these aspects were not what I looked at as positive. These aspects have helped in shaping me as an individual. If I wasn't as tall as I am I would take for granted things like, finding jeans that were long enough and what it feels like to always stand out in a crowd. I have been so much more sensitive to other people and I have been put in situations to encourage other people, especially girls, about their body image. We have each been given the bodies we have for a specific reason. We are not a screw-up or a mistake. If we all looked the same things would be pretty darn boring. So, in this aspect I feel like it's been very positive.
On the flip side, at times I have some negative perceptions about people who I feel have "never" struggled with their body shape. This, obviously, is not the case. But I find myself subconsciously looking at people (specifically girls) who are what the world believes to be the "perfect size" and the "perfect height" and I become quite cynical. Thankfully, I know that no matter how "perfect" someone may look on the outside, we ALL struggle with the way we look and feel about who we are. It's been my prayer that I would be so careful about judging people because when we make those assumptions it's not just the physical characteristic we are judging, but we are actually judging the whole being of that person.
How do physical attributes affect the way you view at other people?
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