Integrating sources to support Essay Example for Free

Integrating sources to support Essay The self, for most, should be the last thing on one’s mind. Doing so will drive a person away from being self-centered or at worst selfish. People say that being self-centered is a sure way to make enemies, and to nurture the ill feelings of others. However, the self is just as important as one’s treatment of others when it comes to developing one’s sense of identity. Too much pride can be bad. Yet pride when used properly is the right antidote against self pity and the loss of identity. Confidence, self concept, and decisiveness all come from personal identity. When a person knows what he can do and what he can be, the more likely that he can be successful in his chosen field or profession. Self-concept begets him the inspiration to do something he can despite his inadequacies as a person. A strong self-concept allows a person to appreciate what he has, revert to his own self, and create something good out of the changes in him. Thus, one should strive to make a positive self concept to bear a positive identity. Despite the Odds This is the premise of Alice Walker’s Beauty When the Other Dancer is the Self. Alice, who became blind upon an accident which she decided to keep forever, lost her identity. Used to the fact that she was the cute little girl everybody admired, she was devastated to learn that her blindness changed the whole of her. She even lost the favor that she is used to getting from her father. This event instilled in her the change that forever altered her life. But Alice was able to live an almost normal life. She even had her own family, and it was in this new family that she was able to conquer her fear in herself. When she was assured by her daughter that her blindness made her special instead of different, she received a renewed view of her personal identity. What has become a shattered view of herself became whole again, and she got the affirmation that her blindness did not make her a different person. She may have been blinded, but she is the same Alice she knew herself to be. Zora Hurston’s How It Feels to be Colored Me reveals that beauty is a state of mind. Zora was black and grew up in a black neighborhood. Moving into the white’s world startled her a bit, but little had she felt that she is different from others. She knew she is colored, but she never felt it affected her substantially. Typically, an ordinary individual will create a comfort zone on the place he grew up in, and the things that she was used to do. Zora dispelled this. She knew she had to break the barriers of her comfort zone to achieve her goals. She knew that being stifled by her difference is the worst mistake she can do. And so she defied the conventions and enriched her uniqueness instead of focusing on her difference. Nancy Mairs had the same concepts. Being suddenly crippled by multiple sclerosis, Mairs found herself trapped in a situation no one will ever want but she. But Mairs was wise. She transformed her ordeal to a milestone by getting inspiration from her condition to write a piece that will both honor her condition, her newfound strength, and to inspire the many other that are in the same situation as she is. A State of Mind Searching for and finding one’s personal identity can be a positive experience for a person when the end result is a positive one. However, finding a positive identity can also be dependent on one’s view of oneself and of the occurrences in his life. A positive view of oneself is a state of mind. When one sees the good in his life and his person, despite all the bad, finding an identity can be an enriching and inspiring experience not only for himself but also for the others. The state of mind is an important aspect that every person must develop. Truly it will be hard to prepare oneself from the unexpected, but preparations are less needed as compared to reason and sound thinking. When a person can decide quickly and save himself from the psychological miseries that destiny can bring, he is a better person that the one who thoroughly prepares for the unexpected that can happen. It is by seeing the positive in one’s shortcomings that one can be truly at peace with oneself. In effect, making peace with the self can bring forth bounty because it defies all the negative energy that bad impression of self brings. It is only through inner peace that one can truly appreciate his abilities and usefulness. Through this can one be truly productive. Hidden Truths We all have our perceptions of ourselves. As with our three authors, some self concepts can be positive, some negative. While it is prescriptive to make a positive self concept, life still can be filled with surprises. As learned by Wayson Choy, there are truths in our own selves waiting to be uncovered despite all our efforts to create the most truthful self image and personal identity. These hidden truths can be squarely unfair. For Choy for instance, as he recounted in his Ten Thousand Things, the hidden truth was that the parents he knew all his life were not his own parents. As if the truth was not painful enough, his uncovering of the truth was set at the time when his parents are already dead. As a complete orphan there were only two aunts to ask, and confirm, what an interviewer revealed to him: he is an adopted. Like Zora, the revelations shattered his comfort zone a bit. The revelation was so sudden that despite the progressive turn of event it still surprised him. He prepared himself for the worst, but when the worst came he was still unprepared. Yet Choy is wise enough to accept the truth and re-create himself from that truth. This shows that every condition is a positive one when one’s state of mind is positive. Acceptance can make one get used to a condition however negative it can be. Conclusion Personal identity is important. It creates a person—his thoughts, his feelings, his whole self. Thus, it is important that one’s self concept is agreeable to him. A negative perception of self affects a person negatively. When a person feels pressured with problems and self pity, he tends to focus his strengths into his negative thoughts and will find less time and energy into transforming his ideas into tangible results. As much as identity creates a person, a person equally creates his personal identity. Self concept is a fruit of one’s view of the events that occur in his lifetime. When a person perceives the negative as challenges to overcome rather than problems that interfere to one’s goals, he gives himself a chance to use these interferences positively and this will affect him positively as well. It will be healthy for a person to nurture a positive self concept and create a unique identity inspired by his difference as compared to others. He can use these to increase his productivity and capabilities, the products of which benefits himself, others, and improves his sense of self and others perception of him.