Self: Sections A & B

• " How would you describe your- "self"- that which makes you "you" and different from everyone else?"
  
  This is kind of a hard question to answer, not that I don't have my select qualities that make me who I am, but I am not entirely if anyone is truly unique. The qualities each of us have is bound to be shared by multiple people, and as such leads to me believe that no one person is completely an individual. Over the course of my life I have met people that all share similar qualities with each other. Now of course one might argue that appearance plays a fact in how we define ourselves. But I feel like thats not true, the characteristics beneath that of our physical appearance define who we are.  So in conclusion, I may have my qualities, but I don't think they make me that much different than other people. I feel like uniqueness is this narcissistic illusion that people create to make themselves feel special or better than someone. But the truth is many people share similar qualities with each other, so while you may think you're different or perhaps better than someone, understand that we are all not so different. Which is something to think about the next time you decide to judge somebody.

• "To what extent is self identity a matter of choice"
  
  It's almost unavoidable to escape the opinions of others, so in many respects how we define ourselves is defined by others. Whether it be our physical characteristics or our personality. Sometimes there are situations when someone else knows you better than you know yourself. I remember on one occasion when I was on church retreat, when someone brought to be my attention that I was very egotistical. I had never associated myself with this term before, and it was only after being exposed to the opinion of someone else that I realized that this quality was very present, and that it was definitely something I had to work on. Self identity is limited especially when I consider an old saying that goes something a long the lines, "Its not a matter of how you define yourself, but how others define you". I feel like its more important, and more honest of an opinion that someone else has of you, than you have of yourself. Self identity is tricky because, while you might be able to identify yourself as something, someone else might disagree, and how you define yourself might not be true. This is simply due to the egotistical, and self centered nature that people can have. So I guess self identity is a choice to the extent of how many lies you are willing to tell yourself before you open yourself up to how other people view you.