Blog Post 2

        One topic that stood out to me was the ideas of perception and identity, because it is incredible how much we can each be influenced by society and our environment. In my eyes, perception is how differently we evaluate things in life, due to how we were raised, society, and different environmental factors.
        In class, an example that raised my interest on this topic, was the idea of social construction, among the colors of things that are supposedly feminine and masculine. Regarding the colors of infant clothing growing up, we are taught to believe that pink represents female and blue represents male, even though colors don't determine anything. I now believe that anyone should be free to dress in any color, regardless of gender.
        In the outside world, an example of the use of perception that I see a lot in current day society, is that in order to be successful inner world, we must get a college education in order to have a successful life past high school. Growing up, there were so many pressures to be at the top in school and to plan very far ahead, to pave the way to college, to ensure a stable job and life in the future. I do not agree with this completely, because while a college degree is very beneficial to have and can open up many opportunities for you, it is not the only way to lead you to living a successful life in the future. For example, someone who is very talented and motivated in the arts, might not rely on a degree to bring them success and stability, rather using their talents to purse content creating, or selling their artwork, without the need for college.
        Another example of perception prevalent in society today, is on social media. Society has this perception that we need to fake who we are, on social media. By posting our life online, there is this perception that we have to attain to a certain look and hold this image, as someone that we aren't, in order to reach popularity and to showcase ourselves to society. This standard that has been implemented in our minds is just a learned behavior that we use as a competition against one another. Personally, I think that you should be uniquely you regardless of what society says, yet I understand how difficult it is to not fall into that pool of ideas society brings.
        Conclusively, we all view the world in a different life, and are influenced by many different factors. I hope that in the future we can learn to use these perceptions in a positive light, instead of negatively.