Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Week 2.1 Commencement Speech at Mount Holyoke College

Argument- Give up being perfect and take hold of being yourself.

In the Commencement Speech, the author talks about how she discovered that being perfect was too much of a burden. With such a burden on her back, she did not really know who she was when she was in college. The author believed that being what everyone else wanted her to be she lost contact with herself. When one is little, naïve towards the world around them, that is when they are truly themselves. Past the age of ten, the social need overruns a person’s personality and the true them is lost behind a mask. The author was correct in that in order to be true to themselves they must take off the mask that people want them to wear.
People use rhetoric to make others into the people they want them to be.  This causes the world to be full of masked people. People change themselves so that their social need is fulfilled. The world around is not ready to accept people’s real personality. Everyone has worn masks for so long that it’s nearly impossible for things to be anything but. The author explains her journey in how she realized being perfect was too much for her to handle every day.  Once she found herself, the world was easier to be in. She no longer worried about others’ opinions about her, just her own opinion.
How can one find themselves in the layers of false identities they have relied on? If one was never really themselves, how can one know who they really are? It starts with wanting to be the true you. The author realized this towards the end of her college studies. Just imagine how it would feel to not have to worry what others expect you to be. It is not an easy journey as the author explained, but worth it. Worth knowing you now have a chance to fulfill the missing piece in your life that you would never know is there until you realize you are not being true to yourself.
Go back in time. Back to when you were a little child, an innocent little child. The world did not expect you to be anything but that innocent little child. Outside of the comfort of one’s parent’s love, the world is full of people judging one another. Once you are old enough to see things for how they are, you start wanting what others can bring. This starts the making of the masks. The masks of being what others need the masks that are hiding who you really are. But at the time it seems like it is the only way. Some may like the game, but it would be easier to just not worry about what others need and focus on what you need.
The author opened up a good point. People are hiding from the truth. Not only is it a hassle to be everything everyone wants you to be, it would also benefit you more to be yourself. If one realizes who they truly are then it would be easier to get what you want out of life. It is never too late to start the journey of finding yourself. Stop relying on others opinions and think about what you want. 

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