The Door is Open

Because you tend toward excessive individualism at the best of times, consider the impact of your decision on the whole community. Sometimes an individual actually benefits by restraining autonomy for the good of the community. As you consider what your duty is, remember that others may see the situation differently or need different supports to fulfill their duties. As you learn to consider the perspectives of others in your decision making process, you will live out the best of your ideals with compassion and care for others.

Imagine you had to pick only a handful of adjectives from a list to describe yourself, what do you think those words be? What if you then had to rank those words? Now, what if you asked someone else to pick a handful of words that they felt described you from the same list and rank them. What do you think your reaction would be to seeing their list and how they chose to rank those words? Would you feel like they completely understood who you are or would you feel like they really didn’t understand the person you see yourself as? We are all different people and we all view things differently so it would only make since that the words chosen by two different people to describe a single individual wouldn’t be exactly the same. Picking just a handful of words to sum myself up really encouraged a deeper look into why I chose those specific words while also allowing myself to discover and reflect upon the underlying influences that helped shape my choices.

Every action a person takes is the result of having thought about what it is they think they should do and then doing it. Life is riddled with problems that require solving. Decisions are complex matters that require careful judgment and problem analysis especially when one is in a role where others look up to them and are affected by their decisions.

impressions made on other people weather we are in contact with them or not (194). In the book,

How first impressions are formed has been a subject of interest by many researchers in the area of psychology.

The study focused on two cultures from different continents, and in virtually entirely different worlds. In the experiment, the objective self-awareness of both Japanese and Americans were tested. East Asians not only find it more important to focus on their audience, but they value the view of the audience about themselves more than they value their own view of themselves (Heine et al, 2008). This aspect of the Japanese leads to a more profound skill set when dealing with others around them. The Japanese have a decent sense in determining when an individual in their audience will notice the sound of their finger tapping, and recall memories where they are the center of attention in the third person view because their focus is set in the mind of an audience member, rather than their own. People of an East Asian culture were also found to out preform Westerners in a task that measured perspective-taking. Previous studies showed that Japanese people and Westerners do not process self-awareness the same. Because of this excessive amount of information provided about cultural differences in self-awareness, it was appropriate to be tested. “Since it was found through research that East Asians focus more heavily on their audience’s view of them, in turn, they should be more influenced by the way they believe others see them. (Hein et al, 2008)”. The participants of the study included American/Canadian students and Japanese

We all think we may know ourselves the best but that isn’t true. In the article, “Who knows you best? Not you, say psychologists,” the author states that a stranger knows you better than you know yourself. Psychologist say this because you only see yourself in a mirror and that is just how you look, your friends, family, and neighbors know who you are because they are around you they know how you act around them. They might notice something you haven’t before.

If we know that other people’s suggestions are correct, we can just be open minded and to accept those informations to make ourselves and surroundings

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly", was once said by Antoine De Saint-Exupery. This is an accurate quote to live by and refer to daily since following your instincts is usually the best decision for yourself. It leads you to do exactly what you want to do, instead of anyone getting to your mindset. This quote can also be shown in literature-characters go through hardships within there own minds. But when a third party expresses their own opinion of the problem then the character becomes confused and eventually withdrawled from what they really want. Accordingly, two works of literature that best show how following your heart(mind) is the better decision would be Tennesse Williams play The Glass

Growing up, my family often let us form our own opinions and perceptions. There is one specific event that occurred in my life that has led me to being more decisive without others opinions. That event was when I got my knee stuck in the teeth of an escalator. In short, my shoe got stuck in between two steps and when I went to run my knee cap dived into the teeth of the escalator. The pain was so intense that I couldn't move so my sister had to physically pull my knee out of the sharp blade. I ended up getting stitches on the Bauer Family's kitchen table. During the numbing process I was offered pizza or Jackie Bauer's Nintendo DS. At this moment I felt as though I had no decisions to make regarding my injury. Although my options with only one of them I took both the slice of pizza and Nintendo. Believe it or not this event is reason I don't have much influence of my decisions today. Choosing to eat pizza while in pain was not the best idea for I quickly regurgitated it, however, being able to choose between these two items helped develop the decision making I do today. In these moments of excruciating pain on the chilling kitchen table I was able to make a decision for myself, forgetting about my fleshy wound and instead focusing on the delicious pizza and Nintendo. As a result of this accident, I made the decision to attend Mercy High School. My decision on attending Mercy has nothing to do with the fact that I am a legacy. My mother and my sister both attended Mercy but I knew I needed decide if Mercy was the best place for me. After research and multiple shadowing days I decided that Mercy was indeed the right school for me. The school provides great resources for students to act on and I saw this as a great opportunity for my future. Making decisions without the oversight and perspective of other individuals has certainly proven that I am a

Obtaining even the smallest ounce of new knowledge can completely change one’s opinion on something. When Thoreau is in jail, he shares his cell with Bailey. During their time in the cell together, Thoreau opens Bailey up to a bunch of new possibilities just by sharing what he knows. At one point Thoreau exclaims, “Everything’s wrong-- when a man only thinks about himself” (Lawrence and Lee 108). This shows how we need, maybe even crave, interactions with other humans. We can truly learn from the success and failure of others but that is only feasible if we share our encounters with each other. The exchange of knowledge is all a person needs to realize something about themselves. This cannot be achieved through

Starting with Emerson’s essay “Self-Reliance” and his focus on trusting one’s own instinct. He mentions that if you do not voice your thoughts and opinions as you to get them then someone else will. This would lead to your shame.

I think everyone would like to say that they know themselves very well. I am no exception. I would like to think that I know others well, at least those that are close to me. Trying to find a song that would symbolize who I am, seemed like it would be a difficult task. After giving it a few days of thought and constantly coming back to the same song, I knew I had found it. “Let It Go,” by Tim McGraw. It is sort of a personal mantra that I have. I don't believe in dwelling on anything for too long. I believe that every situation that happens to us, good or bad, can be used as a chance to reflect on and, then, it should be let go. Yes, it may seem easier said than done, and sometimes it is, but the freedom that comes from not holding on to the

The articles that I read discussed Social Perception. Social Perception was described as interpreting information about other people. If you feel that you are familiar with a person, you perceive to have a better understanding of that person intention. The pattern of thinking can affect a person’s perception of others. The social contexts, in which you meet someone, can play a

All the villagers converged under a fig tree in the middle of the village. The “Likuru” elders and guardians of the culture of the people of Mushiangubu held their meetings there. Eshiwani, a determined young man is brought forward to face the council due to his persistent trials to study abroad. The matter was very controversial with most villagers strongly rebuking the idea. The elders are seated on a trunk.