Who am I? This may seem like a fairly simple question, but how often is it that we really ask ourselves this? When people ask me to describe myself, I fall back on the same words: nice, kind, funny, friendly, and so on and so forth. Something I should consider is that I actually don’t know myself. After reading the work of Thomas Merton, an influential Catholic monk and writer, I came to many important realizations. Despite what I think, there is actually a veil between the person I appear to be and the person I really am. My false self is something that is created and molded by society, and I have been tricked into playing into this. My real self is so much different than the confined boundaries of stereotypes and pre-determined roles.
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Being and to distinguish between our real and false selves will allow me to find true happiness and joy in my life, escape some of the pain and misery of society, and love God in a more authentic way. The second semester of sophomore I took sociology, not really thinking much of it, as I assumed it would just be an easy A. Not long into the class I realized that it was teaching me so much about myself and the world around me I never even knew. One of the first things I learned about was this sociological concept called the looking-glass self. Basically, this idea states that how we think others perceive us is how we eventually learn to perceive ourselves. In other words, how we see ourselves doesn’t come from who we really are or what we actually think, but rather how we believe others see us. At first this idea seemed ridiculous to me, until I finally realized how many times I say, “I don’t want people to judge me.” It seems like everything I do I consider what others would think about it. As Thomas Merton wrote, “If I do not know who I am, it is because I think I am the sort of person everyone around me wants to be.” I can relate to this statement because I often feel the pressures of speaking or acting in a certain …show more content…
There is not set plan, technique, or process to finding my inner self. As it should be, who I really am is spontaneous and free. Being in high school, the rules are very strict as to what is “cool” and what is not. This causes a lot of problems, as the desire to fit in and belong is so strong that it can lead to constant sadness or even depression. Although I myself, have never experienced these deep feelings, I do know that depression can be common and is one of the top causes of death in high schoolers. The way high school operates puts a tremendous amount of pressure to be a certain and if you are not, you are likely a social outcast. Unfortunately, I have seen too many kids at my school sitting alone at lunch. Although at different degrees, living a life in the false self will cause misery and prevent us from living the happy life God intends for us all. It took me all too long to figure out that if we keep God at the center, our real selves without a doubt will shine for all the world to see. Our materialistic and selfish wants will turn to desires for love and long term happiness if God is my model for all doings. As Thomas Merton states immaculately, “Until we love God perfectly, everything in the world will be able to hurt us and the world is full of contradiction.” We, with the help of God, can tear off the
Being and to distinguish between our real and false selves will allow me to find true happiness and joy in my life, escape some of the pain and misery of society, and love God in a more authentic way. The second semester of sophomore I took sociology, not really thinking much of it, as I assumed it would just be an easy A. Not long into the class I realized that it was teaching me so much about myself and the world around me I never even knew. One of the first things I learned about was this sociological concept called the looking-glass self. Basically, this idea states that how we think others perceive us is how we eventually learn to perceive ourselves. In other words, how we see ourselves doesn’t come from who we really are or what we actually think, but rather how we believe others see us. At first this idea seemed ridiculous to me, until I finally realized how many times I say, “I don’t want people to judge me.” It seems like everything I do I consider what others would think about it. As Thomas Merton wrote, “If I do not know who I am, it is because I think I am the sort of person everyone around me wants to be.” I can relate to this statement because I often feel the pressures of speaking or acting in a certain …show more content…
There is not set plan, technique, or process to finding my inner self. As it should be, who I really am is spontaneous and free. Being in high school, the rules are very strict as to what is “cool” and what is not. This causes a lot of problems, as the desire to fit in and belong is so strong that it can lead to constant sadness or even depression. Although I myself, have never experienced these deep feelings, I do know that depression can be common and is one of the top causes of death in high schoolers. The way high school operates puts a tremendous amount of pressure to be a certain and if you are not, you are likely a social outcast. Unfortunately, I have seen too many kids at my school sitting alone at lunch. Although at different degrees, living a life in the false self will cause misery and prevent us from living the happy life God intends for us all. It took me all too long to figure out that if we keep God at the center, our real selves without a doubt will shine for all the world to see. Our materialistic and selfish wants will turn to desires for love and long term happiness if God is my model for all doings. As Thomas Merton states immaculately, “Until we love God perfectly, everything in the world will be able to hurt us and the world is full of contradiction.” We, with the help of God, can tear off the