Who am I
“Who am I?” is a question mostly asked by individuals trying to figure out themselves and their place in society. This question allows one to delve into their likes, dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, and roles in society. As a result, I will address this question and use some theoretical aspects to explain some of the answers that I will give to this question. Firstly, I am a 35-year-old African male. I am also a Christian. I came to the US two years ago from Africa. I have struggled financially most of my life in Africa, but I am better now. Currently, I am a student, and I am also working. I am an older brother to two siblings. I am also in a committed long-term relationship. Additionally, I am very sociable and enjoy spending time with others. I also like to keep to myself sometimes as I enjoy swimming. I am also compassionate and like to listen to other people. Our assignment writing help is at affordable prices to students of all academic levels and academic disciplines.
Physical Traits
Physical traits play an important role in how individuals perceive others. According to Feldman (2020), beauty is equated to good, and therefore, individuals who are considered physically attractive tend to be more popular than those who are considered unattractive. I do not place major emphasis on my physical traits or those of other individuals. Rather, I get attracted to individuals or have a positive evaluation of individuals based on their physical attractiveness. However, my perception is likely to change upon interaction with them. Similarly, I also hope that individuals do not judge me solely based on my physical traits.
People’s expectations about other people are more often than not based on their roles in society. With every social role that one adopts, they have to alter their behaviors to fit the expectations of themselves and others regarding that role (McLeod, 2018). I place major emphasis on my social roles. As a firstborn, I am expected to act responsibly and set a good example for my siblings, and therefore, I try as much as possible to meet these expectations.
Psychological Traits
Personality and temperament can determine how individuals are treated in the society. Concerning psychological traits, an individual’s personality or temperament plays a major role in how they view and, sometimes, treat themselves. I am more drawn to calm and collected individuals because I am calm and collected myself. At times, I am extroverted, whereas at other times, I am introverted. I believe that my personality plays a key role in how others view me, and therefore, I place a high emphasis on it.
Accordingly, I emphasize membership to certain social groups such as sexual orientation, religion, and gender. While in the US, I have been a victim of discrimination due to my race, something that I had never encountered before while in Africa. As a result, I have grown to be more understanding and accepting of other people, treating them with the utmost respect regardless of their backgrounds. I have friends from diverse backgrounds. By paying attention to their membership in certain groups, I have been able to get a wider understanding of their cultures or problems, enabling me to interact with them in a more sensitive, respectful, and understanding manner. Failure to acknowledge the differences in factors such as race is likely to promote issues of racism (Chernega, 2015). Knowing this, I believe that I should not downplay these things as they help improve my interaction with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
How I Might Have Answered These Questions about Myself in MY Younger Days
If I had been asked these questions earlier, I would have answered some of them very differently. For instance, in my younger days, I placed less emphasis on personality and more emphasis on my physical traits, as I was pimply and smaller than my peers. These perceptions caused low self-esteem as I was always bullied and ridiculed for my physical traits. However, I was also very good at soccer and bright, which helped me overcome the physical inadequacies that I thought I had. Susan Harter developed a theory that focused on improving the self-esteem and confidence of children by helping them take part in various activities (Jekauc et al., 2019). According to Harter, receiving social support and motivation on what one is good at boosts their self-esteem and confidence (Jekauc et al., 2019). In my case, I had very supportive teachers and parents, and even though they did not have much to offer back then, they always attended the games that I played and would applaud me for good performance in school.
Over time, I learned to overcome the feelings of inadequacy, became less emphatic about my physical appearance, and focused on the things I was good at. My value continues to be majorly placed on how well I performed as a student and as a firstborn son when I was younger. Furthermore, I believe that I successfully attained my identity as a teenager as I was able to find the things that I was good at and formed certain beliefs that I still practice today. Individuals with proper reinforcement and encouragement emerge from Erikson’s identity vs. confusion stage with feelings of control and independence and a strong sense of self (Cherry, 2021).
In summary, one needs to find out aspects about themselves as this will build on their confidence and help them become more self-aware. Self-awareness means that one will be able to work on one’s weaknesses while magnifying their strengths. In addition, this also allows one to treat other people in a more empathetic and understanding manner.
References
Chernega, J. (2015). Let’s Talk about Race. TEDx. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf8q-8gbfrw
Cherry, K. (2021). Erik Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development. Simply Psychology. https://www.verywellmind.com/erik-eriksons-stages-of-psychosocial-development-2795740
Jekauc, D., Mnich, C., Niessner, C., Wunsch, K., Nigg, C. R., Krell-Roesch, J., & Woll, A. (2019). Testing the Weiss-Harter-Model: physical activity, self-esteem, enjoyment, and social support in children and adolescents. Frontiers in Psychology, 2568.
McLeod, S. A. (2018). Social roles. Simply Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/social-roles.html
ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
We’ll write everything from scratch
Question
Client Notes:
I am a 35 year old male, I came to the US 2 years ago from Africa,
There in Africa, I was just struggling to make ends meet.
Please use this information when completing the assignment.