Student 1

One's self is very complicated and never seems to be completely figured out. It takes some people their whole lives to actually be able to see what type of person they are and were throughout the past years. Various psychological theories have been thought up to help be able to read one's reasoning. The teachings of Freud and Jung, the literary work of Rilke, Hinduism, art as self-expressionism, and music of the Romantic period can each be used to help a person "figure" themselves out.

Freud felt that everything was centered around sexual impulses. Everyone had a "superego" that had the main animal instinct and only thought about those sexual desires. While this is taking place, the "id" is the part that keeps a person from actually jumping on a sexually desired opposite. It is the part of the unity that will keep a person completely straight. The middle part that binds these two ideas together is called the "ego". That is the part that allows each to surface when the time is right. The "id" is somewhat like the negotiator of the two totally opposite sides.

Jung's view, on the other hand, deals with a magic circle that represents unity. It is called the mandala and all its systems are held together by "the self". It is the part that provides unity, equilibrium, and stability to a person. Jung believes it takes many years for a person to find their inner calmness and complete this circle. The idea of religion and spiritual experience is the closest a person can get to the completion of the unity. The key is to move into a state which is between consciousness and unconscienceness. Jung, also, uses the idea of Extroversion and Introversion. Extroversion is a person that deals with the outer world and is oriented with their surroundings, while Introversion deals with the inner world and keeping things inside. Both are thought to exist in everyone, one is just usually more dominant than the other. To move even deeper into unity, one would use sensing and intuition, thinking and feeling. Sensing relies on facts and using the five senses. Intuition relies on the unconscience thoughts and feelings that cannot be explained. Thinking is intellectual and pulled between thinking positively or negatively. Feeling deals with the emotion such as happy, sad, etc..

Hinduism tries to get a person to feel "as one" with everyone in their surroundings. It does not deal with you or me, but we as one. It seems to be a serene state of tranquility and meditation. A perfect Hindu cannot tell the difference between the real world and the inner self world. Everyone has a choice of their own path of inner completeness and understanding. This idea gives a person many years and lifetimes to try to find themselves, and once they do, they are allowed to stop living and be with Brahma ( the creator).

Some feel music is the medicine for the soul and helps one find themselves. A single note can seem to hold more power than a single letter. During the Romantic period, music was unpredictable, irregular, and out of the ordinary which are all characteristics of one's life. So it was easy to relate to and wrap emotions around notes. People of this time could escape into their thoughts while listening to Beethoven or Choplin's Nocturnes. It seemed that whatever mood someone was experiencing, there was a tune to go along with it. Some people believed music has "more of an expression than painting".

Rilke seems to be very deep and his writings remind me of paintings. They are very easily and vividly seen through the words he uses. He paints the picture and his words give you an idea of the setting, surroundings, and even color. In "Hands: A Childhood Experience", he actually uses the colors of red, blackness, and different shades of grey to help you see the scene taking place inside his head. He could put down exactly what he wants people to perceive, just like a painting right in front of someone.

Unlike, Rilke, my self-portrait is not as easily understood. At first glance all that is scene is a pair of old shoes with colors painted on. In actuality, it is the best way I could express myself. The first color is green which goes back to the Yoruba color "du du" which symbolizes a down to earth characteristic. This is what most people I interviewed saw me as. Then, as you slowly move up the shoes the color becomes brighter. This is once you get to know me, you begin to see my happy and bright side. This is because I seem to joke a lot and seem somewhat easy going and friendly. After the bright colors, there is one shoe with red and one with blue. This also uses the Yoruba color scheme because red deals with intensity, anger, and love. I have to get to know a person better to begin to show the emotion of love and before I let a person know what makes me angry and what hurts me. The blue for "fun fun" is for cold and sad is in that section for the same reason. I tend to not let very many people know what makes me upset and when I do get upset, I usually do not explain myself as to why I am. The black zigzag lines portray the idea that the colors do not flow, there has to be boundaries crossed in order to see me next color.

The very back of the shoe is painted black to symbolize the idea that someone has to go through all my shades and color to know my deepest secrets, and what has been kept inside so long that it has made its own little black hole. It is also in the back because it contains the feelings that I hold back and keep from being seen from the front.

The idea of the shoelaces being blue is because it leads to the inside of the shoe and how I perceive myself and what I keep inside. I used light blue because there is not much to it. It is slightly sad, yet still a little bright, which is how I always see myself. As you can also tell, as the laces move up there is no color at all but black and white. I see myslf as this because I do not see anything real exciting. I see myself more as just being there and nothing too colorful.

Inside my shoe consists of a roll of tape, a smiley face, a piece of gum, a stapler, and a rock. The roll of tape symbolizes the idea that I can patch up things pretty well. The smiley face is because that is what people perceive me as because I'm usually always happy. That is my normal attitude. The piece of gum is the idea that things stick to me. It does not matter if it was said by someone else as passing, told to me, or something done to me, I will remember it. The stapler is for the fact that I keep things organized and have to have plans set. The rock was placed in the shoe to symbolize the fact that just when everything seems to be going my way, there is always something there to slow me down. There is always a "pebble in my shoe" it seems and no matter how hard I try to ignore it, it will always be there and uncomfortable.

No matter what theories are brought up or what others perceive you as, it is very important for each individual to find out for themselves what state they want to be in. Knowing whether you are an Extrovert or an Introvert, knowing what makes you "you" is more important. Just like a pair of shoes, the outside might be new and clean, but it is how the inside makes you feel that matters. It is whether they fit and are comfortable that counts.