This chapter, I hate to say, was the first that I did not enjoy. As I was reading it, none of it seemed interesting to me because it was all common sense. It talked about how people present themselves in a good light. Well, of course they do. If I was about to put up a new picture on my blog, and I had a good picture and a bad one of me, why would I put up the bad one? I mean, I have a picture on this blog, and although I could have put up some really impressive pictures of what I do, I chose to put up a picture of a simple skill because I like the mountain background. But nevertheless, I chose to put up a picture of my sport (knowing it is impressive) because I want people to know what I do. I am proud of what I do and I want others to be proud and impressed also.
There are two phenomenons in this chapter that were interesting though. One is when people lie to present themselves better than they are. This would be an interesting study to figure out why people feel they have to lie. Are they not confident enough in what they are to make up more? Where is that line and when does it get crossed? When does someone decide to embelish their story more than they been to?
The other thing I did find interesting is at the end of the chapter, the book talked about how Asian cultures present themselves versus our culture. We are ALL about ourselves.
"Tell me about yourself"
"Well, I am 22, I am Russian, I am a SJSU student, I am fun, I am friendly, etc.."
ME ME ME, right? It seems normal to answer with those answers, until I saw what the book said about Asian cultures, "My parents are the best, My friends and I like to party, My father is stern but supports me." In each of those, the person is still talking about themselves, but in a very different way than we do in the US. It is not self focused. I like this way better.
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2 comments:
I enjoyed reading your entry and what you had to say about this concept, especially about the cultural differences.
There are cultures that value family a lot. With that comes the value of selflessness.
I, myself, don't like to talk about myself unless someone asks me specific questions. Then, I will answer and give snippets about myself. I wouldn't go to the extent to go off and say a whole speech about my self however.
hello,
This chapter was kind of boring but what i did was try to apply it to another aspect of my life. because their are many examples of another person using the mannerisms discussed in this chapter. I mean school is not always fun but if you apply it to another aspect of your that is fun or interesting to you then it will make it a lot easier. However, their are also people like Gian who avoids advertising their self to other as much as possible.
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