Now that the Holiday’s are over, it’s back to reality for most of us – job, school, etc… And I’m not going to lie; I could have stayed at home a little longer. There’s just something so comforting about being at home with your family and friends you’ve known since forever – you can just be yourself. At work you have a specific title and responsibilities, at school you have to go to class, study and make time to have a social life. At home 90% of what you do is socialize and the other 10% is spent sleeping.
This made me wonder where people mostly feel that they can be themselves. Is it at home? Or is it at work, where their job description defines them? Maybe it’s in school, where they may express themselves through their knowledge? What is it about a person and their surroundings that define them?
In philosophy, identity is “whatever makes an entity definable and recognizable.” That could be just about anything from a laugh to a profession. I work in an industry that is so consumed with image that they fade away the shadows of who they used to be, and build a new identity altogether – something light years away from who they once were, they change their values, their perceptions and behaviors for something they think will be more acceptable in their line of work. The Film Industry is not an easy environment to be in, and to hold on to ones identity without getting lost in the sea of mirrors and smoke is something to truly admire.
Actors, for example, make a career out of pretending to be someone else. Does their profession define them as fictitious people – just like the characters they play? Or is it a way to escape their true identities, personalities that the public can’t seem to get enough of, and even those personal traits and events are fabricated for the public’s eye. Do we really ever get to know a celebrity? Do they dare show their true colors or do they not even know them anymore? There are so many ways to label a person, it sometimes seems unfair. Why should someone else’s perception of you define you? Why should your job define you? Your friends, family, etc… Only you can define who you are. The key is to be comfortable with yourself, with your environment and the people that surround you on a daily basis. I feel more like me when I’m at home because of the freedom I sometimes take for granted in other areas of my life. At home I am free to speak my mind, to manage my own schedule - make one up or let randomness take over, answer my phone if I want to or not, etc.... At work you have to be careful with what you say out loud, to your boss, clients, everything is so thought out that it seems scripted – not natural, eventually not you. At school, you can truly discover who you are, and who you want to be, it’s a great experience; but in the end it's still somewhat of a work in progress, your almost there but not quite yet.
Even though I believe it is a good thing to know who you are; I’m not asking anyone to label themselves in certain ways depending on what you do, think or say. People change. But most of the time you’ll come to realize how much of a lifesaver it is to be sure of yourself, your values, opinions, etc… In a world where most people just go with the flow, and follow the flock, being you will be the best way to remedy any frustration you might have with the outside world. A phony person is beyond easy to detect, and the humiliation of being exposed is not something anyone will ever enjoy. It is better to be you, in all areas of your life, and let your identity define the type of job you do, the type of friends you make, the type of relationship you maintain with your family, etc… Why let external factors determine anything? It shouldn’t be so hard to just be yourself.
This made me wonder where people mostly feel that they can be themselves. Is it at home? Or is it at work, where their job description defines them? Maybe it’s in school, where they may express themselves through their knowledge? What is it about a person and their surroundings that define them?
In philosophy, identity is “whatever makes an entity definable and recognizable.” That could be just about anything from a laugh to a profession. I work in an industry that is so consumed with image that they fade away the shadows of who they used to be, and build a new identity altogether – something light years away from who they once were, they change their values, their perceptions and behaviors for something they think will be more acceptable in their line of work. The Film Industry is not an easy environment to be in, and to hold on to ones identity without getting lost in the sea of mirrors and smoke is something to truly admire.
Actors, for example, make a career out of pretending to be someone else. Does their profession define them as fictitious people – just like the characters they play? Or is it a way to escape their true identities, personalities that the public can’t seem to get enough of, and even those personal traits and events are fabricated for the public’s eye. Do we really ever get to know a celebrity? Do they dare show their true colors or do they not even know them anymore? There are so many ways to label a person, it sometimes seems unfair. Why should someone else’s perception of you define you? Why should your job define you? Your friends, family, etc… Only you can define who you are. The key is to be comfortable with yourself, with your environment and the people that surround you on a daily basis. I feel more like me when I’m at home because of the freedom I sometimes take for granted in other areas of my life. At home I am free to speak my mind, to manage my own schedule - make one up or let randomness take over, answer my phone if I want to or not, etc.... At work you have to be careful with what you say out loud, to your boss, clients, everything is so thought out that it seems scripted – not natural, eventually not you. At school, you can truly discover who you are, and who you want to be, it’s a great experience; but in the end it's still somewhat of a work in progress, your almost there but not quite yet.
Even though I believe it is a good thing to know who you are; I’m not asking anyone to label themselves in certain ways depending on what you do, think or say. People change. But most of the time you’ll come to realize how much of a lifesaver it is to be sure of yourself, your values, opinions, etc… In a world where most people just go with the flow, and follow the flock, being you will be the best way to remedy any frustration you might have with the outside world. A phony person is beyond easy to detect, and the humiliation of being exposed is not something anyone will ever enjoy. It is better to be you, in all areas of your life, and let your identity define the type of job you do, the type of friends you make, the type of relationship you maintain with your family, etc… Why let external factors determine anything? It shouldn’t be so hard to just be yourself.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment