12/4/14 Dr. Harder HMNSS Essay Four The touch on the pass is perfect, it lands into the hands of my best receiver as if he was cradling an egg. He gets two feet in the back right corner of the endzone,Ihave just won on the last play of the game. “YOU SUCK,” I scream in mybuddies’face, whom is disgusted.
As the room is filled with laughing teenagers, I look over to see that my mom is calling. “EveryoneShutup! My mom is calling me!” This is routine for my friends, the room is now dead silent. I answer, “Hey mom what’s up? Yes we are working on our project. Ugghhyes his parents are at home.
Alright I will be home later. ” All my friends are giggling as I put down the phone. I just lied to my mom which is bad, but why does one do this? Could this be because I am trying to impress my friends? KennethGergenwould debate that this is one of my multiple identities. Throughout his essay he explains how “we are not apt to find a single basic self to which we can be true” (172) Does one speak to their friends the same way they speak to their parents? Absolutely not. Playing Madden may bring out a side of me that isn’t present when I’m with my parents.
There are many ways of showing it off but most people have one coherent sense of identity. My attitude towards adults and children differ because you are always supposed to respect your elders and they demand a different type of treatment. WhenI’mhanging out with my friends I can almost say whatever I want because they do not take things offensively. If Iwere to come across a random guy on the street and call him a name he would probably get heated whereas my buddies wouldn’t care at all.
Even though I have a different mask on during these circumstances this does not change my identity. ThroughGergen’sresearch, he does not believe in psychologists or critics view “that it is normal for a person to develop a firm and coherent sense of identity, and that it is good and healthy to do so, and pathological not to” (172) Isbeing respectful around adults while being wild around my friends show that I have two different personalities or could this just be a mask I use in different situations. There is a big difference in having multiple masks and multiple identities. These masks thatweall use in certain situationsarenormal and we all use them. Your identity is who you are as a person. My names Casey Henderson,I’m18 years of age, and I love baseball.
If I were to tell someone a different name, age, or that I hate baseball, I would be masking who I am, but not giving myself a different identity. Why do people use these masks you may askyourself? Gergenis correct when he states,”both outward appearances and inward feelings” are the key factors to masking someone’s personality. ” (172)DuringAimee Lee Ball’s essay “Reflections in the Facebook Mirror,” she describes the “Bio” section on Facebook as “fill in the blank, every man for himself” (198). Nowadays, the internet is the easiest place for someone to hidetheiridentity. I long onto twitter and my bio says “UCR Baseball,” Thistells viewers where I attend college, what I enjoy doing, and that I am a young adult.
However this is not who I am as a person. There’s some people that mask everything about them in search of happiness while others do as little as photo shopping one of their photos before posting it. Either way I do not find this a change of their identities. Ball uses a quote from BrianZiskwho states,”Online, there’s a whole different set of clues for evaluating people you come across.
If you meet someone in person, you can see if he’sa slob or if he woke up this morning and spent seven hours on himself. But people online are remarkably similar to what they are in real life. If you’re a jerk online, you’re probably a jerk in real life, too. ” (201) Developing a judgment about someone after you meet them is much easier than trying to do so while staring at their profile.
Most people don’t put anything in their bio at all but anyone could mask their identity in there bio or on a picture they are posting. These people’s identities are being hidden not changed. Presentation is very important in society and AmyAlkonexpresses this throughout her essay. In “The TruthaboutBeauty,”Amy argues the opportunities that presentation can bring and how important it is. On the other side Naomi Wolf writes an essay called “The Beauty Myth,” which expresses a view on women in a different way, stating that”standards of beauty are a plot to keep women politically, economically, and sexually subjected to men” (206).
Even though I don’t believe it should, beauty defiantly brings opportunity both to male and female. If a clean cut guy with little suit for the job and a homeless guy with perfect attributes were battling for a job who do you think would win? Almost every time the clean cut guy will win because he will come off more confident and easier to work and communicate with. Alkonjokingly states,”If you’re beautiful on the inside,’that’sall that matters” (205). Nowadays it is almost impossible for someone to get to know someone inner beautywithoitfocusing on what they look like on the outside. The person that hates getting cleaned up but put a mask on for the interview is the person that got the job.
Just like presentation masks are extremely important as well. Peoplenaturallyviewothers for the way look and your presentation will be thefirst thing they judge. The secondjudgmentpeople will make will be your mask. Most likely you’re wearing the same mask as I do at the dinner table around my parents.
If you wore the one I wear around my friends then they probably want nothing to do with you. Gergenbelieves that people with one coherent sense of identity,”may experience severe emotional distress” (172). There are times to be serious and times to have fun because personalities can go in every direction. I wear many masks throughout the day. I go through the school dayall quite respecting my teachers as they talk. Then I go to baseball practice where people are having more fun and I begin to laugh and crack jokes.
I get home from practice where I have a call waiting for mefrom my mom, I now have a new mask on. I have on identity and I do not have any emotional distress. We are all true to one identity, but some people use more masks than others.
