CHAPTER 2
Somehow I can say that the self is actually the product of the society. Example is the widely known saying that goes “tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are” it is often said that the people whom we interact with reflects ourselves. Based on what I often see, this saying is evident in some teenagers. If your friends are drunkards, you most likely get influenced by them. Sooner, you’ll be a drunkard too. This is also why if a teenager gets out of place in a group of other teenagers, he/she would declare “they are not my people” this means that their ways of socializing and bonding are not just compatible. Though it’s said that no man is an island, it’s inevitable not to get picky in terms of friends. We can’t please everybody.
Often times, the point of view of ourselves differs with how others see us. Their impressions might be wrong or right, whatever it is, you know yourself better. We often get hurt when their impressions and what we think of ourselves don’t attune. Some might think your kind of the ‘kill joy’ girl in town but in reality, you just practice what’s proper and usually accepted by the standards of the society because you’re just afraid of what others might say. I myself, is also a victim of this. I was called Ms. Perfect but I just want what’s the best course of action to take in every situation because this could go back to me. I am a firm believer of ‘what you reap is what you will sow’
As I grow older, I have come to realize that originality means that one is brave enough to go beyond the norms. Self-cultivation equates to discovering my potentials. If this means going against the norms, I will have to search for it of course, with the guidance of my parents. Each person living in the world should always find its authenticity in order to accept him/herself. People can’t always pretend wearing masks to fake themselves. They have to unleash the real them, what’s genuinely inside them. He/ she might think no one understands him/her but there is always a certain person to console and listen to his or her thoughts about his/her perception of him/herself.
If we all notice, material things almost run the world. Positions are defined by purchased possessions. Some people crave for power. By craving power, they crave positions and by having positions, it is required to purchase prestigious possessions. Being tied up with latest materials will make us never be satisfied of what we currently have.
