Defining the "Self"

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer discusses what defines a person and shapes her into the individual she is meant to be. The writer notes that this is a question that all human beings, at some point in their lives, think about. The writer maintains that who we are and what we become is caused by a multitude of incidents that occur throughout our lives, leaving behind the memories with which we judge ourselves. These recollections form the root from which we allow our futures develop. The writer uses personal experience to illustrate the point.

From the Paper:

"This need to believe in a divine power, overshadowed by a nagging fear that this God does not exist is an experience most children go through at some point or another. Some, like Grealy, choose to put it behind them and except their faith for what it is, although lacking in material proof, while others, like myself, never quite recover from their childhood skepticism and continue their adult life refusing to believe that any celestial being as powerful as a "god" could allow lives to fall to shambles as they often do. It seems to me that believing would be the easy way out because when you believe in s superior being there is no reason or need for explanations. Anything that happens happens for a reason, as part of a greater purpose. To me, that just never seemed realistic and I think that I felt this most strongly throughout my high school years."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Grealy, Lucy. Autobiography Of A Face, Harper Perennial, 2003
• Branden, Nathaniel. The Psychology of Self-Esteem: A Revolutionary Approach to Self-Understanding that Launched a New Era in Modern Psychology, Jossey-Bass, 2001

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