A False Sense Of Identity

Imagine, you go to work in your dress shoes, black suit, buzz-cut hair, red power tie, and nobody pays you a second look. But, the second you get home, you kick off your shoes, and don high-heels, the suit is replaced with a dress, your short wig is taken off, and you let your long curls fall, and your tie is in the closet, with a necklace in its place. Such hiding of true feelings is not an unheard concept in the transgender world. Millions of transgender people will never express their true feelings in their lifetime. This is similar to The Intruder by Andre Dubus, Kenneth Girard a

For the next two years I struggled with the concept that I might actually be gay. By junior I was certain that I was in fact all the things that I was called in middle school, but because of the negative memories I decided it was a secret that I was better of keeping to myself. That was until the spring semester of my senior year in high school when I decided that I was going to live my life the way I wanted to. I would no longer allow people to scare me into being anything other then what I wanted to be I would live my life openly and honestly. On the evening of February 16, 2014 I came out as Gay on literally every social media platform I owned. The following morning, to my surprise, my classmates for the most part greeted me with open arms. As I walked from class to class I received a staggering amount of compliments and support. I was quite frankly overwhelmed when I did get a negative comment and a dozen people rushed to my

Yoshino argues that because of these pressures to suppress aspects of our identity, the act of covering is “a hidden assault on our civil rights” (553), one that impedes people’s pursuit of personality authenticity. Many stories just like that of my gay friend are more than likely similar to other people’s experiences, people from numerous ethnicities, orientations or identities, and are most definitely in line with Yoshino’s perspective on the matter of covering.

Roy Cohn and Joe Pitt represent the stereotypical gay man who refuses to publicly acknowledge his sexuality. They portray how gay men sometimes go to extreme lengths to deny their homosexuality. Both not only lie to others, but they lie to themselves. There is a certain sadness in the fact that some gay men desire the respect of strangers over being honest with themselves. Why do such a large number of gay men live lives in denial? The answer is simple. The answer is fear. Fear is the driving force behind many gay men's secrecy. The fear of how others may view them and the fear of how they will be received is overpowering.

Imagine, you go to work in your dress shoes, black suit, buzz-cut hair, red power tie, and nobody pays you a second look. But, the second you get home, you kick off your shoes, and don high-heels, the suit is replaced with a dress, your short wig is taken off, and you let your long curls fall, and your tie is in the closet, with a necklace in its place. Such hiding of true feelings is not an unheard concept in the transgender world. Millions of transgender people will never express their true feelings in their lifetime. This is similar to

We all need to see our version of our reality reflected back to us by others. It takes an exceptional person to retain their understanding of their identity when others question it, deny it or even set out to destroy it. Many of us cannot withstand such an assault on our sense of self, submitting to the strong, dominating personalities who want to shape the world in their own image. However, it is not only others who have the capacity to bring our fragile sense of reality undone; maintaining one’s self belief also requires withstanding the doubts of self.

She was the first girl to meet my family. This girl would have to be Kayuona Taylor. When Kayuona moved here from Indiana, I began talking to her and telling her all about the school, this town, and even our classmates. Kayuona was a sweet girl, and back then, she was the most beautiful in my opinion. Later in the year, Kayuona and I became closer than ever. We were like best friends. Despite all of the rumors people were telling her, she stayed by my side and was not ashamed to do so. Our first date was at a skating rink in Grenada. She was scared at first, because she thought she was gonna fall. I held her hand,

“You lie so much, you have become to believe your own lies” (140). The societal construction of sexual scripts and gendered expectations produces a universal emphasis on heteronormativity. As a result, any deviance from said expectations frequently results in societal opprobrium and thus a conditioned fear for those who fail to conform to their hetero-dominant culture. In Giovanni’s Room, we encounter a young man, David, who battles with his sexuality throughout his life, even in cultures more openly accepting than his native Brooklyn. David’s own propensity for self-deception and hatred is externalized in his interactions with those who represent the sexual identify he so desperately tries to deny and repress. This active projection is crucial in understanding David’s concept of masculinity and his ingrained fear of rejection by the heternormative society that produced him.

Growing up everyone is told that they are unique. “Be yourself,” “use your God-given talent,” and other expressions such as these impress the aforementioned narrative into our minds. Thus, when I was around thirteen years old, I thought my sexuality was just a part of me that only I had. I wanted to share this feature about myself; I wanted to take pride in it and show it off. Coming out to a close few friends showed positive and emotional responses. Riding on this high, I was ready to embrace myself in high school. Yet, my naivety took the best of me as I was going to an all male, religious high school. My sexuality has provided me with experiences that have and will continue to shape my life. These struggles, whether they are internal or external, have provided me with invaluable skills.

The sexual orientation identity development is a theoretical model that conceptualized the resolution of internal conflict related to the formation of individual sexual identity. For sexual minority people, it is commonly known as the coming-out process (Bilodeau & Renn 2005). There have been many different models elaborated to explain such process. All of them share similar stages: awareness, crisis, and acceptance (Loiacano 1989). When individuals become aware of their queer feelings and attraction, they try to block these homosexual feelings by constantly denying and minimizing them. This mechanism of defense leaves negative sequelae in their overall psychosocial well-being (Bilodeau & Renn 2005). Individuals tend to pass by a

All through life, we experience various occasions when decision-making become necessary. A number of them present themselves in difficult forms and at crucial points. Most of the verdict we take will eventually figure and describe our track of lives. These are what we refer to as lessons of life. Choices never present themselves in an easy way. In some instance we are always forced to pay a price to achieve something. This implies that we are trading for an outcome we are seeking.

The question of right and wrong has been battled over for centuries. Many conservatives still believe that truth is absolute, while others disagree, saying that truth is relative. I believe that truth is an individual’s perception of beliefs and decisions.

Many people question themselves, what is it exactly that makes them unique? What is it that defines them as a unique person that no one in the world possesses? In philosophy, these questions do not have just one answer, and all answers are correct depending on which theory appeals most and makes sense to you. In general, there are two ways people approach this question, some say that a person’s identity is the “self” that carries all of their experiences, thoughts, memories, and consciousness (ego theorists), and some say that a person’s identity is just a bundle of experiences and events that a person has been through in their life, these people deny that the “self” exists (bundle theorists). In this paper, I will be arguing that a person’s identity is just a bundle of experiences, denying the self and the memory criterion.

My personal mission statement is as follows: To be a positive and influential person in society while still being myself at all times.

Life as we know it could vanish within seconds. The next day is not promised to anyone that walks on this earth. As we live our everyday lives peacefully, we tend not to think what our mission or purpose in life is. Instead, we think what we must do for that to be a “successful” person. Despite this way of thinking, just think for a second. What makes life meaningful? What is life anyway? These questions dive right into the heart of the philosophical, psychological, and the biological aspects of life and what the true meaning of life is. This is a very arguable topic due to every person’s different perspective on life and what it means to them. In summary, I personally think that life is simply what you make of it and each person’s accomplishments has its own merit