September Blog Post

Stasia Newton

Professor Christina Ivey

Comm 160

Date: 10/1/18

September Blog Post

Over this last month I think one of the most important things I have learned about is the stage metaphor. Everybody presents a version of themselves to the world that might not always be truly who they are. Everyday we put on a performance and most of the time we’ve gotten so used to it that we do it without even a second thought. I think this concept was made even clearer by the reading we had on Fear by Andres Gomez. One example that really stood out to me was when he talked about seeing his parents argue for the first time ever. Before that point he said he can’t even recall ever seeing them have a small disagreement. People told him he was so lucky to have the perfect family, where both parents were still happy and together. He believed this was true along with everyone else, which to me was a perfect example of a performance or everything that could be seen on the front stage. When in reality the backstage would be that his parents probably fought quite a bit more and kept their personal feelings to themselves. Reading this example really helped clarify the stage metaphor for me. I think it can already be really difficult to put yourself out there when you’re “performing” or keeping up appearances of what you’ve had on front stage. So showing people what’s backstage can be terrifying. I know when I’ve revealed parts of myself  I usually keep private, or backstage to someone it can feel like I’m drowning or I can’t breathe as I wait for them to respond. And it can really hurt when someone treats you differently because of something new they learned about you. But I also think showing what’s backstage is how I have made some of my closest connections and friends. It’s also really hard to keep up a performance. During elementary and middle school I was always known for being smart and getting good grades so kids would always try to partner with me. This wasn’t necessarily true I just worked really hard so my parents would be proud of me and I could do other things. However, when I got to high school this idea that I was a smart kid followed me. Eventually when someone else asked me why or how I was so smart, I told them I wasn’t I just worked really hard and dedicated a lot of time to school. As usual they just kind of laughed and joked that it was because I was half Asian. It wasn’t until I got to college that people began to comment on how often I studied or how much work I would do. It was nice having people see beyond just my outer appearance and making an assumption. So I think learning the stage metaphor is important because sometimes people don't realize that they're putting on a performance or keeping important parts of themselves backstage.