“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” When we take a picture of ourselves we often try to make the picture as best as possible. We may adjust the angle, height, edit, add and remove filters, and all and all we try to make it look the best we can. However pictures only show a small glimpse of who we really are. “Photographed images do not seem to be statements about the world so much as pieces of it, miniatures of reality that anyone can make or acquire”.(sontag, 17). In sontag quote she says photographs don't tell you the whole story, but rather you see a glimpse of it. The first picture of me is me; however, it's a glimpse of who I really am.

The first photo The face I show to everyone is simply the ideal image of myself. The me that I want everyone to see is someone who is calm, reliable,considerate, and honest. If anyone needed a favor from me I will be more than happy to lend them a hand. Im also trustworthy enough to finish something on time.However there are times were I will catch myself not acting on par from my ideal self. There are times when I might forget to complete a small task and will need to be reminded to finish what I started. I will act brash when im in an irritated mood and will have a hard time being calm. I will also act selfish and care more about my needs than others. Depending where I am and Who I am with can influence me to act differently as well. When I am in public I tend to be more serious and wont crack a smile or wont even laugh at a joke that I find funny. I would even focus more on the task then wonder about anything else. At school I tend to be very quiet around people I don't know. On the other hand when I am around friends or people I know I tend to be a bit of chatter box. In class I rarely raise my hand unless the teacher is asking for the class to participate. When I am with my friends I tend to be less serious and more of a playful manner. Cracking jokes, laughing at jokes, that sort of thing. My family on the other hand is a bit different. When it comes to them I'm a bit more in the middle. Sometimes joking sometimes serious. I tend to be more mellow and relaxed then tense. I guess who I am depends on Where I am. at home I'm calm and more expressive than I am when I am at school or work.

In the second photo, represents more of my desire to learn more about others. When you learn about something that interests you want to learn more and more about it. The more you know about the subject the more knowledgeable you become. When I learn something new about someone its like reading a chapter in a book about someone's life. “ The photograph is to appropriate the thing photographed. It means putting oneself into a certain relation to the world that feels like knowledge and therefore, like power.”(sontag, 4). I believe that being vulnerable is the best way to feel truly feel connected with someone. Doing so can create a sense of belonging and knowing your feelings or your true self is in safe hands. If you try to avoid being valuable or opening up to others then you will start to feel isolated and alone. Friendship will be harder to make as well to maintain. im the type of person who is all about love and peace which means when it comes to conflict between me and someone else or weather I have nothing to do with it always makes me feel unprepared and scared. Anxiety shoots through the roof as well as feelings of worthlessness. Also I tend to have very High expectations of myself and if I don't achieve them then I will feel disappointed and feel incompentent. Even though I may not like this part of me It's still a part of me that I accept and cherish. After All you can have the good with the bad.

This reminds me of a scene in the movie “The Truman Show” when the director was being interviewed by a reporter. The reporter asks the director Christof why hasn't Truman figured out he was being raised in a tv show. And Christof responds by saying we accept the reality that is in front of us. In a way he is right alot of us are more or less like Truman. We never really think twice about who we are or what we are and how our reality tends to shape us. We all tend to stick with what's familiar with and anything that disrupts that vision will ultimately make us feel afraid and scared, therefore we ignore it. Throughout the entire movie Truman has been given many clues that his world is an illusion, and yet he still ignores all the clues and avoids thinking or mentioning anything about it. To simply think about who we really are you have to ask yourself the big questions that we try really hard to avoid answering even if it brings us pain. At the end of the movie Truman was able to confront his fears and was able to leave behind the reality he once knew in order to pursue something real and more meaningful. Watching this movie really taught me something important about identity. When I ask myself who I am, I really can't give a specific answer to that question. Any answer I come up with Is nothing more than a title that we develop over time such as a college student, cashier, or a teacher. I think our identity is created based on what our future endeavor is. For myself my life's endeavor is doing good. Doing good in my point of view speaks volumes. Doing good can be anything from helping out someone when they get stuck on their homework, or when someone needs advice on a situation they're in, or offering support to a friend in their most troubling of times. It's those little things that eventually add up to the person. And since my life's endeavor is to do good I plan to a career field that allows me to carry out that purpose. I believe it's human nature to seek out an identity that will make you want to strive and want something from this world.

I remember reading a book called “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho. Its about a young boy who is unhappy with his life so he sets out on a journey in order to search for his purpose. He wanders from place to place learning how to read the language of the world by reading omens. Throughout his journey he runs into obstacles and is always trying to find a way to overcome them no matter how long it takes. I can easily relate to the young boy in the book because even now I'm still trying to find out who I am; however, by learning about myself and overcoming any obstacles is what forming an identity is all about. Learning about myself, understanding myself, and accepting myself will in turn show me what is it that I want from this world.

Works Cited

Sontag, Susan. “In Plato’s Cave.” On Photography, Dell Publishing, 1977, pp. 3-24. Composition Flipped, writing101.net/flip/wp-content/resources/documents/sontag-in-platos-cave.pdf.