I define who I am in many obvious ways. For one, I play sports all year round. I play sports for many reasons. One reason I plays sports is because I love them. Even if it’s a sport I’m not particularly good at, I like learning new things, which says something about my character as well. I’m not too afraid to make mistakes, which is why I play sports all year round, even if it’s not a sport I’m particularly good at. Playing sports all year round says a lot about my character. It shows that I’m athletic, or at least in moderate consideration, I like to keep busy and out of trouble, and I am committed. These are all things I would like people to think about me. However, I am not too involved in sports to the extent that people think I’m too sporty or am completely centered around sports. Another way I define myself is by how I dress. I try to not wear sweats too much because I don’t want people to think I’m lazy or I don’t care about how others perceive me, which would be a lie. Despite the comfyness a nice sweatshirt can bring, I feel like some people view that as being sloppy. I try to look put together with my clothes, so even if I’m having an off day, where things are extremely confusing, I am still put together in one aspect of my life. I hope that my appearance gives off a somewhat organized appearance because of my lack of sloppiness most days. I also define myself by my academics. I try to do very well and I get down on myself when I don’t do too well because I’m quite the perfectionist. My grades are fairly good, so I think that shows how I work very hard and I always try my best. In the social aspect of things, I always try to be friendly to people, even if I’m not necessarily friends with them. I try not to appear unfriendly to people I don’t know too well because I don’t want to get the reputation of being mean. And another way in which I define myself is by taking part in many different things. I don’t like to devote all of my attention to one certain aspect of my life, because I don’t want to get a title that defines who I am. I think that is one of the great things about University is that it is so small that I can do a lot of different activities because there is a no-cut policy for sports and the clubs are open to anyone. At bigger schools, I feel like people achieve titles much more easily as the “nerd,” the “jock,” the “popular people,” and so on. Of course, everyone thinks of somebody when they think of all of these titles to connect to somebody in our school, but not everybody knows that certain person as that title, which is great. I try to not define myself as a certain person, and more a unique person with a lot of different stuff going on.
I agree with William James’ argument in “The Social Me,” and it is definitely obvious in the way I craft myself. I know I definitely change myself based on whom I’m with and how I want people to think of me. The characters in Speak are definitely defined by their given titles. Because the school is much bigger than University, titles are more common for people. Melinda definitely crafts herself to make others not notice her. She tries to stay under the radar as much as possible, which is definitely evident in her lack of talking in class and at school in general. She is titled as the weird girl, which she hates, but it’s better than being in constant spotlight. Also, Rachel very obviously crafts herself to make people think a certain thing about her. She changes herself based on who she’s hanging out with at that given time. Every person, especially in high school, changes who they are to make others think a certain thing about them. This is certainly true for me in the way I craft myself to present a certain image to my peers.
