FiNaL

For my final on identity, I decided to have a group project that also left everyone with a little souvenir from class. I had each person claim a bottle and put a few words describing themselves inside it. They used one sheet per thought. I asked them to then write at least one thing on a sheet about someone else and put it in their bottle. I asked for all thoughts to be anonymous. By the end of the project each person had a bottle full of words and thoughts that others in the class felt about them. The “hidden” aspect could be described in plenty of ways. The traits you feel about yourself were hidden from others. And the identity of those that described you was hidden from you.

It was kind of exciting to look inside and read them. It reminded me of grade school valentines day, where you wondered who had left you a valentine or candy, or even who was your secret admirer.

I hope everyone left feeling a little more enlightened about themselves and if all else fails, at least likes the tiny jar as a memento. 🙂

Identity

So for my bliss day I went out…and took care of myself. I read for awhile. I got things I needed. And I spent time with my mother. we went and shopped for curtains for the house. It wasn’t perfectly blissful because I was missing my favorite person, but for what it was, I enjoyed my time. and I didn’t have to work 🙂

But I did do some thinking on what it meant about me. That my happiness involved other people, except incorporated with time to myself. and an idea came to my head about the project. I wanted to do something involving the whole group. Each would have a small box which was completely blank. on the inside they would put as many traits about themselves that they know are true. adjectives describing their TRUE selves. then on the outside. the class would go around (anonymously if needed) and write on the outside, without looking in, what they thought were traits of the person that they see from the outside.

then…..see if they match or are completely different. So that we, in essence would have created a visual representation of how we perceive ourselves and the images we project to the world.

The fear experiment

Examine the situation.

Fear to me is intangible. It is anxiety. It is tension. It is the realization of a horrible, unavoidable truth. It is several things. It’s also the lack of certain things, like acceptance…understanding…and hope.

Formulate an experiment.

My experiment was to draw myself and to see what I see. So to start with, I just drew.without thinking. Then I noticed certain tendencies that I had, and elaborated them. Making them more exaggerated. And the end result was in the post below.

Hypothesize the expected outcome.

I thought I would get the traditional…”oh you don’t have to worry about that,” or just a general dismissal of the issues. Like they weren’t really founded. Although not in a way that Implies judgement, but more as in what a friend would tell you. Like what you want to hear.

Conduct the experiment.

I stood up in class. I spoke my piece, much like the explanation above, then listened.

Observe the reaction.

People in class elaborated more off of what I told em and told me what they saw in it. Things I hadn’t intended per se but were there none the less in my own representation of myself. There were certain boosts to my confidence, like comments of courage for putting myself out there and doing something as personal as a portrait, even if it was modified.

Analysis of hypothesis with actual outcome.

I expected the comments on the observations I proposed, like the fattening of my face and the…unhappiness of sorts while studying my reflection, albeit they were about inconsequential things.

Propose changes to your idea based on what happened.

I think that I would do several portraits. Each with a different goal. A cartoon:to show exaggerated features. An abstract: to show expression, especially with colors. The realistic one: to represent my self Image.

The most impacting fear experiment was the religion one. Zac lost a friend because of beliefs and assumptions. The conversation everyone had was touching, and gave me hope in us as the human race. People listened. They elaborated, responded and had an open mind. It was in itself..beautiful.

Fears