TOPIC: MY(SELF)
SOURCE: MY (LIFE) and personal definition of myself.
RELATION: Our Robbins text says that identity is constructed by culture and many other aspects such as our social identities, individualistic, holistic, egocentric, and sociocentric views of self as well as positive and negative identity associations as compared to desirable and undesirable views of our qualities.
DESCRIPTION: As I was reading this chapter I found myself wondering how I define myself and if I find certain attributes in myself to be positive or negative. As graduation is nearing very quickly, I have to say, I find that my student identity is one of the main identities I define myself with. Many of my friends and fellow classmates will not be continuing their studies and will no longer define themselves as a student but as a professional or whatever it is they are going to do. Since I will be continuing my studies and will be attending graduate school, I will still define myself as a student, and since being up in Humboldt for my studies, I realized that this is the main identity I have associated with since being away from my family and other work roles. When people ask about me and my life, I usually say I am a student and I am originally from southern California. I view my role as a student as a positive identity and that is probably why that is the first thing I usually mention.
COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS: I found this view of myself very interesting in that the view self is a very dynamic and evolving thing. Once someone becomes a professional, mother, father, etc, the view of self and the definition of self changes.
I just also wanted to mention congrats to anyone else who is graduating this May!! I wish you the best of luck in you ventures into the world! :)
TOPIC: Ideal Family Forms
SOURCE: My personal family life and and extended family.
RELATION: The Robbins texts states that there are two different types of families, the family of orientation which consists of a father, mother, self, and siblings. The other kind of family Robbins mentions is that of the family of procreation which consists of a husband, wife, and their children.
DESCRIPTION: I grew up with my family of procreation which consisted of my mother and father (who were married), my two brothers, and I. Although I do fit this label of a family, my family dynamics have changed very much since my fathers death. We are now a single parent home and my mother is a single mother. To her, it has been a lot of work having to take over another family role of the father. I have a couple friends who have grown up without one parent and they claim that their single parent acted as both the mother an the father. I can definitely see where they are coming from now since my father's passing. In my culture, it is important to recognized extended family as close family. My aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents are all considered close family to me. And since I never had any sisters, I consider all of my girls cousins to be sisters. As my father would say, "Son tus primas-hermanas", which means, "They are your cousin-sisters". I took this to heart and am still very close with my girl cousins till this day. Another family and Latin cultural tradition is respecting elders in the family and also outside of the family. Elders are respected and valued in my culture because they have so much knowledge, wisdom, and life experience.
COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS: Although my immediate family consists of my mother and my two brothers, I also consider my extended family very close. I believe that the family composition varies from family to family and the different beliefs and values they hold.
Topic: Religion and Interpretive Drift
Source:A talk with a family member regarding religion (a very opinionated family member may I add)and expressing my feelings of the religion I used to practice.
Relation:Interpretive drift is defined as "the slow, often unacknowledged shift in some one's manner of interpreting events as he or she becomes involved with a particular activity" (Robbins,pg.94, 2012). The text also mentions that when someone begins to practice of even play with a new belief or idea, they begin to see new patterns and connections that they did not see before. This is a very interesting idea that can very much apply to my life.
Description:I had a conversation with a family member regarding the Catholic religion and asked me why I do not go to church anymore. This is a difficult topic to discuss with anyone in general but especially with family who tends to be very pushy and opinionated about their beliefs with their loved ones. I think my drift away from the Catholic religion started with my father's death. Along with any dramatic and life changing event like this one, their may be changes in the way a person sees their world. That is what happened to me. I began to question everything a lot more and did not limit myself to any one single idea about religion and spirituality. I did a lot of soul searching for a while and took up yoga and meditating. These practices I feel like, helped heal me and everything I was going through. Yoga is all about being in the present moment and bringing peace of mind and that idea really stuck with me. I still practice yoga till this day and believe it has a profound positive impact in my life and the things I do. I did not find this to be with Catholicism and tried to explain to the family member where I was coming from. It is a tough conversation to have, but I tried my best.
Commentary/Analysis:I guess a little ethnocentrism came into play in this situation. My family member seemed to be pushing the idea and religion of Catholicism on me without any regard to how I felt and what I had been through that had changed my beliefs. I have to admit, I felt a little attacked but kept my cool. Religion seems to be ones of those things that is assumed in a family system. Because your family is a certain religion, you are "supposed" to believe in that as well. At least, that is what I have seen in my family life. I hope the future generations can be more open about letting their children and family members free to explore and express spirituality as they see suits them best.
