EDS NICHOLE
ENTRY 1
My name is Eds Nichole A. Cagas. I was born in Cagayan de Oro Philippines and I am 18 years old now.
The people in my immediate environment are my family and friends. My family has literally been with me ever since the day I was born. I learned everything that I know from them. Some people say I have a laugh like my mom, I dress like my sisters, and I think like my older brother. As I grew up, I began developing friendships with my peers. These friendships also contributed greatly in shaping me to be who I am today. Like for instance, I noticed that my friends and I act and talk in the same way. Our time spent together made us adapt each other’s qualities and personalities.
The factor that links my friends and my family together is my family's interest in my friendships. My mom is kind of like a stage mom so she likes to know all about my friends. She invites them to our house and spend time with them as well.
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The indirect environment that affects me are my family's' workplace and the mass media. My sisters and my dad work overseas, so I don't really know what's their workplace like. When they are in a bad mood because of their work, they tend to become so irritable when I reach out to them, in that way the stress that they got from their work affected me indirectly. Whenever my mom hears a very bad information on the news, she suddenly becomes so uptight with me that I'm not allowed to go out or that I should go home early, which affects me also.
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Growing up in the Philippines, I have accustomed to certain Filipino values such as being hospitable when there are guests, saying “po” and “opo” as a sign of respect to others, doing “pagmamano” to our parents when we arrive home, and not being able to survive a day without eating rice.
Bronfrenner's Bioecological Theory
ENTRY 2
My Hybrid Identities
As shown in the illustration above, these qualities are my hybrid identities. Being born in this generation where technology has become a big part of our lives, I have developed qualities of the global culture. Through social media, I got influenced by the different cultures around me. I hopped in the different fashion, music, and beauty trends. It is known for a fact that most of the Filipinos these days have colonial mentality, and sad to say, I am also part of that majority. The feeling of inferiority to other countries made me feel that I should rely on their products more instead of choosing the local ones. Despite these, I still carry with me the local identities I have inherited as I aged. Growing up in the province made me who I am today. Our city is known for being the "City of Golden Friendship" and this is really true because in my experience, everyone was super friendly and hospitable - these traits are what I carry with me with pride and joy. Even though my fashion and music preference was influenced by the global culture, one thing that has never changed is my food preference. I still choose filipino delicacies over the foreign ones because no matter where I am in the world, it always tastes like home. The local identities I posses is what was taught and passed down to me by my family and my global identities are what I discovered as I grew up. Altogether, these qualities combined is what makes me unique from the others.
ENTRY 3
Globalization is Janus-faced since it has both negative and positive sides. Looking at the negative side, I experience identity confusion and insecurity. The western traditions I discovered has overpowered my Filipino traditions. On the other hand, it has made me become open minded about other cultures. It has made me think outside of my own culture, like for example in my clothing choices, I follow the western trends rather than sticking to the Filipino Style. But because of this, it has also made me creative by giving me a chance to incorporate other culture’s styles to our own. Lastly, as I became open to these cultures, it has enriched my knowledge of the world. It made me see things from different perspectives and made me understand the bigger picture.
Globalization is Janus-faced
ENTRY 4
Loob and Labas
The image on the right showcases the aspects of my hybrid identities that are "loob" and are "labas", The aspects that are more "loob" are my values, food taste, Filipino Culture & Practices, and my personality for these are the identities that I am carrying and have been carrying as I grew up. These are the identities that was instilled upon me since I was young and it has become a part of who I am. The aspects of my identities that are more "labas" are my music & fashion preference, my colonial mentality, care for others, and appreciation for the Foreign Cultures because these are the identities I have developed and acquired on my own. Along the way in discovering myself, I have figured out the things that I like and the things I do not, I have become founder of the international music, fashion, and culture. These are the things I found sa labas, outside out of my comfort zone and outside of the things that were taught to me.
ENTRY 5
I am the kind of person who gets very happy over the little things. Here are some of the situations that make me happy. Number one on the list is seeing cute dogs and watching dog videos. I am a major dog lover and I really can't help but instantly feel a surge of happiness when I see one. Second, travelling also activates my happiness for it makes me super interested on what lies outside my comfort zone. Lastly, car rides with my best friends also makes me happy. In a world where there is so much toxicity everywhere, I try so hard to fill myself with positive thoughts about myself. I believe that I am good enough, I am going to better than who I was before, and I am loved and cherished by my friends and family. The consequences of these beliefs and situations are smiling (from too much enjoyment and happiness), and being motivated/inspired.
I am a photo-hoarder, and whenever I'm bored I always scroll at my photos and whenever I do, I feel a pang of sadness. It makes me sad because I believe that I won't be able to experience that moment again. Resulting me to frown, feel down, and (If I see something really sentimental) I cry. Since I am going to a college miles and miles away from home, being away from my best friends and family also makes me sad. It makes me sad because I have this belief na maybe they're too busy with their own lives and routines to a point that they probably don't miss me anymore. Lastly, failing on a test that I studied for really REALLY makes me sad. I believe that I am not as smart as my classmates that's why I failed. As a result, I overthink all my mistakes, flaws, imperfections, and I'll drown myself in pity.
ENTRY 6
Last March, I turned 18 years old. Turning 18 is a big milestone for every lady, especially Filipinas since it is called “the coming of age”. In our tradition, most girls celebrate this special day by throwing a debut. This situation triggered my id, ego, and superego. My id, was telling me to go for it. Have a debut. Don’t worry about how much it’s gonna cost. However, my ego was telling me to just celebrate it with people who are close to my heart. My superego was telling me not to throw a debut because it costs a lot and I’m going to a college that is far away from home; throwing one will just add to the list of expenses my family has. In the end, I followed my ego and celebrated my birthday in a simple way, together with people who are close to my heart. We had a dinner and I spent the night in a hotel with my friends. It was not as grand as a debut but I still felt happy and grateful to have another year of my precious life.
ID, EGO, SUPEREGO
SITUATION 1. DEBUT VS SIMPLE CELEBRATION
SITUATION 2. SLEEPING VS STAYING UP ALL NIGHT TO STUDY
I usually study the night before the test, and in doing so my id, ego, and superego gets triggered. My id tells me to just sleep, to get some rest. Mental health is more important than having high grades! My ego, on the other hand tells me to study atleast a few chapters before I sleep. My superego reminds me that it is more important to have studied even just a little bit than have studied nothing at all. I chose to follow my ego because as good as it is to sleep, I still can't get a failing mark. I can't put all my parent's hardwork to waste. What I can do to balance the strengths of my id, ego, and superego is to really think about the consequences and the outcomes of my actions before deciding something.
bonus paper
In the movie, Goyo wasn’t being portrayed as a perfect superficial superhero just like most movies do. But instead, they showed the audience his fears, mistakes, and vulnerabilities. One example of this was when he was having a lot of nightmares about his death. He was afraid of death. As humans, our body is prone to pain and sufferings. These vulnerabilities define our unique limitation. These vulnerabilities are what makes us human. Goyo made a lot of sacrifices to serve our country. He possessed the “tibay ng loob” or the firmness of the self. He had the ability to endure the danger of going to the war. In the war against the Americans, he gave all he got; he wanted our country to win this war. But instead, we lost and he died. This goal he had was his “abot” and the failure to achieve this goal shows the reality of the reach of the self – that the self is not always capable of reaching what it aspires. He showed that heroes are also humans just like us.
What you can see on the picture on the side is the life cycle of a butterfly. The stage of being a pupa is what I can compare to where I am right now in terms of my developing self. Just like the pupa, I am ready to go out of my sack and be a butterfly. To become a butterfly means to become that self-secured adult that I aspire to be one day.
In terms of psychosocial, I think I am already in between the Identity vs Role Confusion and Intimacy vs Isolation stage because I am exploring my independence and developing a sense of self but I am also developing intimate relationships with other people. Being away from my loved ones makes feel sort of Independent. I must now rely solely on my self. I do my own laundry, cook my own food, budget my allowance, arrange my stuff, and basically do all things by myself. I have also started to develop a sense of my self by knowing what I want in terms of career, personality, hobbies, and etc. I have gotten used to this stage which makes me feel like I am already on my way to the next stage which is the Intimacy vs Isolation. Since I have developed a sense of my self, I am now ready to share myself intimately with people other than my family. At this point of my life, I have already established some intimate relationships with my friends. Having known each other for a long period of time, my best friends and I have become very comfortable with each other. Also, I think I am ready to meet a future partner I can commit to. While in terms of psychosexual, I think I am in the genital stage where I have accepted and acknowledged the physical changes in my body. The issues of emerging adulthood I am starting to experience is the gender roles imposed by society. Women are expected to be less superior than men and are treated differently. Like whenever I go out wearing shorts, I would get catcalled causing me to feel uncomfortable about my body but if it were a guy being topless they won't feel what I was feeling.
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I have a very ambitious vision for my adult years. First of all, I aspire to be financially stable. I want to be the one providing for my needs so that I wont ask help from my parents and siblings anymore. Instead, I want to be the one giving them money so that they wont have to worry about the bills and all. Second, I want to be able to travel around the world. I want to travel and explore a lot of cultures but I can only do this with my hard-earned money.
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MY SELF GROWTH
ENTRY 7
ENTRY 7
ENTRY 8
I can say that my journey to achieve Individuation has not been an easy one. Being the youngest child, I was often the one being asked around to do things. At that time, I felt like I was my parent’s and sibling’s personal slave. Because of this, I wanted to separate myself from this situation. I would avoid doing house chores by hiding in my room, pretending to be asleep, and by playing on my phone. My mom likes to maintain cleanliness and order. She likes to do the task at hand immediately that’s why she would ask help from me. I wanted to separate from this belief because I am just plain lazy. But as I grew up, I began to assert myself and I realized that my mom was just trying to make our lives easier. She wanted us to have a clean and organized environment to grow up in. After that I have become more open to my mom’s values and beliefs, after all she just wants the best for us. I really respected her because of this. This influenced me to be like her. Part of my identity was adapted from my mom’s. I have become used to being neat and pristine that it has become a habit of mine to clean things. I only realized it now when I moved away from my home. Since I live on my own, I find myself cleaning, washing, arranging, and organizing the things in our condo. Whenever I’m stressed, I would find something to clean and it does really help me feel calm and collected. I can now see my mom as a different individual by starting to think of her not just as my mom but as my friend. At the end of the day, I would message her and tell her how my day went just like what I do to my friends. I really loved talking to my mom because she is so invested in what I have to say and it really feels nice to have someone who cares for you genuinely.
For the people who are undergoing this process, I advise that you should keep and open mind because our parents have gone through a lot of things compared to us, and with those experiences comes knowledge and life lessons that can only be acquired when we experience it ourselves. Also, we must remember that they only have our best interests at heart and it wouldn’t hurt if we tried obeying and respecting them. For parents, they should share their beliefs and values to their kids but not to a point that they are imposing it already. Sure, they might think that those are the right beliefs but sometimes, those beliefs may not match to what your children believes. We must learn to give and take, and learn from each other.
INDIVIDUATION
It is undeniable that technology has changed the way adolescents grow up. It influences parts of our identity, and also becomes a big part of our everyday life. In this century, children as young as 3 years old already have their own social media accounts, as well as their own gadgets. Social media is tricky, so it must be used with complete caution. Here are my tips to my fellow adolescents out there on how to navigate digital spaces.
First of all, social media is a place where people express their ideas, beliefs, opinions, and thoughts. We are often bombarded with clashing and various ideas that we don't know how to process all of it. With that comes my first tip. We should not be easily influenced by other's opinions. As an adolescent, we are at the age of exploring our identities, beliefs, and values. We should establish it from our own experiences, not just by what we see on the internet.
Second, we must keep in mind that the information we post on social media can be accessed by anyone, thus, we always have to make sure that what we post does not harm, offend, or insult another person. Us, teens, tend to just post anything we feel and most probably regret it later on.
The internet is a common ground for people from different countries, cultures, beliefs, religion, and race. Whenever we encounter them we must treat them with outmost respect. We must make sure that whenever we engage with another individual on the internet, we must still have our manners in check and be polite.
Lastly, no matter how fun it is to be in these digital spaces, we must make sure that it does not take over our life and affect our daily activities and tasks. We must limit our time spent on social media.
So kids, don't forget to bring your manners and proper etiquette when navigating digital spaces! xoxo
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TIPS ON NAVIGATING DIGITAL SPACES
ENTRY 9
ENTRY 10
TIPS ON SEXUALITY AND DATING
In the past, The issue of one’s sexuality often posed a great deal to people. People tended to judge individuals who had partners of the same sex. They released hateful words and discriminated homosexuals, creating a rift between the LGBTQ+ community and the straight people. Fortunately, that isn’t the case anymore. Most of these people from that certain era are now the older people in this generation, and with that comes these tips that will guide them to understand the sexuality of millenials. At present, people are more accepting of such individuals — there are already even global campaigns held for the LGBTQ+ community. My first tip for them is to keep an open mind. As mention, this isn't the 80's or 90'ss anymore. People are now more open to their sexuality for it is much safer to come out of the closet now. So now we must welcome them with open arms and open mind. Second, ditch the stereotypes. Just because a guy cries and pours out his feelings doesn’t mean he is gay. Forget the stereotypes and the stigma people has accustomed with. As mentioned previously, people often make an assumption that a guy is gay just because he shows his feelings, but that is not the case, he is simply showing a basic human experience of having emotions. Any person can cry, no matter what their sexuality may be. Lastly, love wins. Love has no gender, race, or religion. Love is love. The older generation may have gotten used to seeing boy-girl relationships but in this generation, we are more open to more than jut a boy-girl relationship because it is still love.
In this generation, dating can be very tricky. So here are a few tips. Keep in mind, I am not an expert in dating or whatsover. These are just from my own personal experiences. First and foremost, you must learn to love yourself. How can you love others when you can't even love yourself? Before dating, you must make sure that you are ready to open yourself up to another person. You can only do this by accepting and loving yourself. Second, once you start dating someone, it is very important to know them more than what their favorite food or color is. You must take the time to know them deeply by taking things slow. Lastly, you must keep your relationship private. Nowadays, people tend to post and overshare their relationship on social media. It is undeniable that whenever we scroll on our timelines we see #relationshipgoals here and there. Your relationship is between you and your partner so you must just keep it among yourselves, or maybe to your inner circle as well.
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ENTRY 11
Gender is a term so complex that people often confuse its concepts with one another. In order to understand it deeply, here are some basic scripts and concepts that people need to understand. First, your gender is not always equal to your gender identity. Gender refers to the biological sense you are born with while gender identity refers to how you internally interpret the chemistry that composes you, or in simple words, it is "who you think you are" (Killerman, 2010).​
Second, Gender expression is flexible because it is how you demonstrate who you are (Killerman, 2010) and you express yourself in terms of how you act, dress, behave, and interact. Most of the time, these things change depends on who you are dealing with and what you are feeling. Sometimes, we conform to trends, or we have a different mood for that day, so your gender expression is different.
Gender orientation and gender identity are often intertwined with one another. To make it much simpler to understand, gender orientation is more on your external relationships; who you are attracted to or "who you go to bed WITH", while gender identity is more on your internal, which is your SELFF; who you ARE or "who you go to bed AS".
Having knowing these things, I hope this can help you understand yourself better and don't ever be afraid to show your true colors!