Society: Blindfold to One's Self-realization

      Society plays an important role on the person we are and wish to become by either limiting us or posing expectations that are believed to be out of our reach. Others views and opinions often become so strong that they shape our identity and even subdue our dreams. Then it all comes down to fitting in, after all it is what we all seek; we try urgently to change our ways, to react accordingly to lifestyles that seem acceptable. Our family and friends as well shape our identities, by trying to reach their expectations or prove our worthiness, we lose ourselves and become no longer capable of knowing what we are about or what we want in life.
      Finding our identity is believed to be a personal work, something we must do on our own. It is more complicated then going on a quest and getting lost or facing an obstacle, finding our on selves depends as well on the actions we do and where we go from there, our plans and goals from our misadventures. To be a bit more clear, over the last few weeks my classmates and I have been reading, well decoding Native Son written by Richard Wright, a story that sets place in the 1930s. Briefly, the novel is about a black man who is unable to reach its full potential due to his background and his physical appearances. He was no noble man, after killing a young naive white girl, most of us believed he was insane, while others pitied him for he lacked some kind of knowledge or maybe because he was black and did not know any better. At the end of the novel he had no other choice but face the electric chair. Although the protagonist finds out that both black and whites have feeling just different types of lifestyles, the actions he made caused by either fear and anger still indentifies him as a man who had no control over himself and let others get the best of him. Of course, everyone would believe he caused his own downfall, but what about the ones that led him to act so shamefully? Maybe if he was allowed to live wherever he wanted, and was able to go to school and pursue his dream to be a pilot, maybe he would have not committed those crimes. The inequality felt changed him into a monstrous man, who had no values. He was seen as an animal gone out of control, without realizing that he was this 'monster' because of the lifestyle they kept him from having and enjoying.
       I read from somewhere that we are true to ourselves when nobody's watching (or maybe I just made that up) but often I wonder, to both fit in and be true to myself I must accept where I came from, who I am, the things that I can or cannot do; I must set realizable goals and focus on myself as well as being aware of the people around me. One cannot stop the people around him from judging or misunderstanding his actions, but I have learned being true to oneself should matter the most. People may be watching you or even stalk you, but it does not mean they see you.

Niecy 😊✌🏾