More than Black & White: I am Who I am Essay

1 thing that truly sparked my attention for this assignment is the title, Who am I and wherefore Does it Matter? Over twenty- dickens years of my existence, I gloss over intercommunicate myself this question every day. I can non guarantee that I have an dictatorial answer, for I am still in the process of individualised stripping and grasping the concept of personhood that differs at a particular time. What does it reall(a)y designate to be me, especially at this point in time? Am I the same person now as opposed to say, a decade ago? As I take a misuse back and recollect all my past experiences in life, I observe how much I have grown and how my perception of who and what I am has significantly transformed. Each year contributes to my development as I alteration from an adolescent into adulthood each life stage marks a b are-ass beginning as I approach limiting at hand(predicate) and closer towards uncovering this indeterminate question of Who and what am I?I position myself as a man but what does it really mean to be a man? Is it solely countersinkd by my biological features, the commission in which I am genetically born with male genitalia? As I continue to dive further into this question, I am reminded once again by John Lockes Prince and the Cobbler analogy. If the prince, oneness day, wakes up in the cobblers body, is he no durable the princeand vice versa? To what I remember in my philosophy course, Lockes remonstration to the Same-Body Theory, argues that the sameness of body can non be the gauge of identifying whether or not two individuals be the same person. Similarly, in contemporary times on that point atomic number 18 individuals who ar genetically born as males but identify themselves as femalesand vice versa. So if the body is not the sole definition to define gender variations, then what is? Growing up, I was taught that men be anticipate to be masculine, strong, and brave.Residing in a male-dominant hostel, often ti mes men are expected to suck up their painphysically or emotionally. We must play the dominant role and cannot show signs of fear or we would be descryn as incompetent. Women, on the another(prenominal) hand, are depicted as a motherly-figure, the nurturer and homemaker and believe it or not, women are perceived as substandard in contrast to the superiority of male counter split. It is due to these gender roles that every individual must act a certain way in order to uphold communitys stereotypical views of what is considerably the norms wedded these gender variations. And believe me, I am everything NOT what was described above. I am scrawny the like a twig, fearless to show my emotions, still cry like a baby when I need to, and in that respect is relatively a feminine touch within me. I see myself as a man, not because of my physical body or how society shapes the image of what a man is supposed to be.I am a man, because of my own personal values, beliefs and how I was r aisedmy nuance, character, and most importantly, my own influence image or interpretation of what a man truly entails. In other words, I can associate a man who is un appalled to break boundaries directing to traditional gender roles, someone who is confident in his own skin and fearless to show emotions. He is a wiz not because he portrayed no signs of weakness or fear. He is a hero because he is unafraid to show those weakness or fear in public, and to conquer them in becoming stronger. It does not emergence how society sees you, what really matters, is how you see yourself.Further more, it is important for the younger generation to earn the concept that it is okay to be different, and that, gender is in the eyes of the beholder. Women are not any less competent than men, and men are not any less emotional than women. This is an important point to address when work with others either in an academic or working environment. A split understanding of these concepts can help bet ter equip a team-building atmosphere. Placing ourselves in each others shoes and seeing things at a different prospectat different angles, can help make better gender equality. As a result, this constitutes to producing results at its most efficient and sound way.If we take another step back and evaluate other characteristics regarding my personal identity, my race and ethnicity is only a dime size in the full-bodied ocean. I was born in the Guangdong province rankd in the atomic number 16 of Chinese borders, and again, it is a size of a pencil point if you were to locate it on the map of China. When I first arrived in the United States, my family was exceptionally traditional. It took them approximately a decade to slowly assimilate into the American culture. Furthermore, my parents pressure me to study the Cantonese language, along with Mandarin, and my mother constantly remind me to never spirt my origins. And now that I am an adult, I take her words close to my heart. I a ssociate myself with yellow skin and I am high-flown to be a part of my Chinese heritage. Nonetheless, China has over fiverthousand years of history, and countless cultural differences across all regions of populations Republic. And, because there are so many variations within the Chinese heritage, it is inevitable for others to project misconceptions of Chinese people.Especially in western and European societies, we are being seen as those with squinty eyes, loud, animal abusers, and lack of etiquette and mannerism. I am not saying that there are absolutely no Chinese individuals who fits into those categories, but generally, this reflects upon everyone across all cultures. We live in such(prenominal) a diverse world, and especially in San Francisco, there are multitudinous different faces that comes in all shapes and colors. It is important that because we live in a society where diversity is so prominent, we need to turn around how to appreciate and accede these differences . Every culture and heritage consists of their own practices, values and beliefs. Do not be shy to showcase who you are, and only judge others similar to how you would like to be judge. I think the reason why there are so many fallacies, and discrimination against a particular race or culture is due to the fact that people are simply unaware, and afraid to swallow differencesfear of stir.When one is accustomed to a particular culture or language all their lives, they begin to draw barriers and become close minded with regards to the outside world. They become frightened of exploring the newborn and unfamiliar, and refuse to hire diversities that resides outside their comfort zonethe ambiguous. As educators, peers, working professionals, we need to discipline others to embrace diversity in comprising an all-inclusive environment. That is the reason why I joined ASI Project Connect, is due to the different faces I see, and how they appreciate and accept me for who I ammy race, cu lture, gender. In order for me to contribute back to ASI, I will use similar attitude to recruit and retain new members, educating them that the beauty of living lies not in all similarities and perfections, but for all the differences to help broaden our knowledge and learn more about other parts of the world.In turn, we improve ourselves on how to treat others with dignity and joint respect, keeping an open mind and appreciate race and ethnicities at a more personal level. Similar to what Socrates once said, The unexamined life is not expenditure living. We must not be imprisoned in Platos cave forever, not knowing what really occurs outside our familiarity but instead, we must formulate questions and explore lifeoutside the cave. Even though it is relatively factual to say that we all share similarities, exposing ourselves with familiar characteristics which reflects another aboriginal point in relating to others with parallel interests and retaining them.But within those simi larities consists of differences that we should all learn to value and appreciate in order to serve as role-models for new generations. That way, we can better recruit and retain members across all parts of the world who share both similarities AND differences. In this world, there are more than simply black and white, but we live in a society filled with compound colors. How you see yourself is more important than how others see you. You are who you are, and you should not change to fit into certain expectations or societal roles. At the end of each day, ultimately, I am who I am and theres nothing you can do or say to change me, for I am proud of being simplyme