Blog Prompt Reply #21

In what ways do you "construct" your identity? In what ways do your "perform" in your daily life?

I would say that people construct their identity through physical actions. For example, when we get up in the morning and get dressed and put our makeup on, we are "constructing" our identity. Kind of like getting ready to be a character for Halloween or for a play. We then "perform" our identity through our actions and how we act throughout the day. I guess this is if you think of an identity as your character or your personality. I personally perform by striving to be a hard worker and be successful. I have really struggled lately and almost feel swamped by the pile of work I have, but I am a hard worker and keep chugging through.

Describe some ways in which your personal culture and social environments are "constructed".

My personal culture is constructed through the people and places around me. My personal culture is constructed by the food I eat, the people I surround myself with, the places I go, the music I listen to and so on. I would say that trends have a huge role in my culture and social environments. My family is another sense of construction in my life, because they have given me the "building blocks" that I feel are necessary for life, whether it be life skills, morals or work ethics, they have helped construct who I am both personally and socially.

Describe some ways in which your physical environment/space is "constructed"?

Some way in which my physical environment are constructed are through a little bit of chaos actually. With my life being as hectic as it is, my physical environment can get very cluttered and organized. For example, my car and my bedroom become quite "chaotic" this time of year and as a result, construct a very stressful environment for my identity. Vicious circle I guess. :)

In your daily life, what would you consider to be "real" and what would you consider to be "constructed/fabricated"?

First thing that popped into my head as real is love. The love I feel for my family and for my boyfriend are every bit of real. I feel like the hustle and bustle of life and the go go go schedules that we all have are kind of constructed in a way. We choose what car we drive, what job we have, what clothes we where, but when you come home at the end of the day, and feel that love, you know it's real and meant to be there. Although you have control of love, you definitely don't have to think about it as much. Another example, kind of funny, but I think of people's "phone voices" as constructed. Everyone has  their nice voice on when they answer the phone and it is so funny to hear how people act so sweet on the phone and then get off and be their "real" selves.