Identities and Cultures Essay

Everybody in the world is a unique person within themselves. We are all our own person and express the person we are through different forms. We also show who we are through identities and also through our culture that we are in. The identity we choose to have is up to us, so is the way that we express our identity. This was shown in our class through many different activities such as our YouTube list, reading, graffiti, movies, etc. As I stated earlier people convey their identities in many different ways, which makes conveying your identity so much more interesting, due to the fact you choose how to show the person you are however you want. We can also express our identity through different genres. Different genres call for different genre conventions, and the way we show our identity. I believe that all genres allow us to show the person that we are, but all of the different genres show who we are in different ways. Twitter allows us to display our opinions for others to see, Graffiti allows us to show the type of person we are through pictures, while YouTube allows us to show people who we are through sound. All of these genres depend on the culture or identity of the person presenting them. We saw a movie (Bend It Like Beckham) that displayed the Indian, and English cultures. We also saw graffiti in our reading that can show many different identities, and cultures. The cultures represented in genre convention all depend on the person who is presenting their work, or genre, to you. I presented my identity in many different ways to the class. I displayed my identity to the class through YouTube, and a Comic Strip, and communication with my peers also showed my identity. Outside of class I display my identity through social media networks such as Twitter. Through the process of making my presentations I did come through some small minor problems. When it came it to producing my comic strip  and YouTube video, the only problem was choosing a situation in which I should present to the class. After I choose what to do, the creation of my final product that represented my identity was very easy because I knew everything that happened. Personally, I don’t have a problem presenting these comic strips and Music Videos to the class because those are all part of who I am, and I have no problem with who I am. My presentations that I showed to the class were mostly through visuals, and communication. For my YouTube list I showed a song by Zac Brown Band featuring Jimmy Buffet called â€Å"Knee Deep†. It  is a country song that gives off a very relaxing vibe, and the relaxing mood is also shown in the video and lyrics. I choose that song because I believe that everybody needs to relax, and take it easy. Everybody deserves a break once in a while, and when that opportunity comes to relax, you should take advantage of it. For my comic strip I choose a situation I was in when I went to basketball camp at the University of Notre Dame. I was scared going into it because I didn’t know anybody else that was going. After a while of being with my team I was assigned to I wasn’t scared anymore because everybody I  was surrounded by was so friendly. This represented who I was because after that camp I realized that most people are friendly, it’s just the fact that they’re just as scared to talk to you as you are, and you just need to be who you are and everything will work itself out. For these pieces I addressed my peers as my audience due to the fact I knew I was going to be presenting these in my class with people are in the same age level as I am. When I was producing the products I was wondering what the people would think of my presentation. Not nesecarrily if they would like it because I don’t really care if they like  the presentation or not, but rather just overall what they thought of the experience I was presenting to them. Also when creating the presentations I was thinking about the people who helped shape the identity I became today such as friends, family, pets, coaches, etc. Those people are the reason I am the person I am today, and I also take credit to for being the person I am and having the identity I have because I am the person who has made the decisions I have made throughout my life that have helped to form my identity. Through the whole process I did feel disconnected from some of the material we studied. One of the assignments I felt disconnected from was the comic strip â€Å"Persepolis†. The reasoning behind the feeling of disconnect is due to the fact that I am neither a women, nor part of the culture that is represented in the comic strip. Also, the comic strip confused me a little. I think this because I was ignorant of the situation that her and her family were apart of. Also, I felt disconnect, and confusion initially when reading the script that was assigned for the movie â€Å"Bend It Like Beckham†. This was mainly due to confusion because the script jumped around a lot because it was a script for the trailer. I thought I was going to be disconnected from the movie too, due to the fact the main characters are different genders than I am, and they are also from a different culture than I am. I did find connection to my identity in the movie though through soccer because I have always had a great interest in sports. Soccer isn’t my favorite sport, but I still respect the game and enjoy watching the World Cup, and International games. My research process has basically been the same since the start of high school. I start out by getting all the materials I need or even think I might need when writing my paper. By doing this I eliminate writing a sentence stopping and looking for more info. In my opinion it’s quicker to gather all materials initially. After that I look through material to gather information that I might need for my presentation by highlighting the information or writing it down. After this I write my introductory paragraph. Once that is completed I then look at information that I will need for my first paragraph. Then I write my first body paragraph on all the information I choose from the materials that I found. This process is then repeated until my paper is ultimately complete. Of course then I will  read the paper a few more times to check for grammatical errors, and other mistakes. Other parts of my research process include listening to music. Music is big part of my writing because it helps me focus a lot. I love listening to Music, and do it all the time when walking to class, working out, homework, or sometimes when I have free time. Listening to music isn’t just a key part to writing papers. It is a key part in my identity and helps me express who I am to others. Overall this assignment and research that we have done in class has made me realize how much our identity actually means to us. Everyone is unique and has the exact same identity as another person. Everyone’s identity is unique which really makes it that more special. As much of a cliche it is, everyone really is unique in their own way, but in todays world some people’s identities aren’t acceptable in certain countries, and cultures. The world has seemed to have evolved into a place where only certain identities are accepted, but it shouldn’t be like that. We should be able to accept people for who they truly are and that is one of the main lessons that I have learned from this chapter on different cultures and identities.