lucky findings

I don't think I have collected anything since I was about 10 (rocks oddly enough). I do have neat little box filled with foreign coins, but I don't count that because if they fit in a coin operated washing machine I would no longer have them. I think I am on my way to a new collection: assorted media (books, records, cd's etc.). It must have started with a stolen book. In a vacant classroom last year I noticed a bookshelf with a nice looking, but worn, harcover copy of Great Expectations. I knew I had to take it when I saw it. If I didn't it may never be read again. It's the only thing I can ever remember stealing, and I don't feel guilty about it.

I found myself in a used bookstore looking for nothing specific and came across the complete collection of Edgar Allen Poe's short stories, in a pretty hardcover printed in the 60's. This is October (the best month for Poe I must say), so I had to have the book (don't give me that look, I paid for it). Later that day on one of my rare trips to Walmart (The store I hate), I came across Monty Python's The Life of Brian selling for $7.50. It was well worth it. I'm going record shopping in Springfield tomorrow. I hope my luck holds out.

On the self image presentation and discussion

I don’t recall ever pondering over my own self image. Self image is a topic essential to daily life, although frequently overlooked.

Upon being presented with the challenge of kicking off our class’s semester-long intensive look at self image, I felt a bit uninterested in the chosen topic. I didn’t know what we would talk about, and I was in the first group. As time came closer to present I realized that it actually was a blessing to go first. We had a blank canvas. We could start the topic in a way we would like to see it go.

I previously viewed self image as a one dimensional subject of its own, but in presenting the topic I had to realize that it is a central psychological concept influencing self identity and all social interaction. Essentially, every person is whatever he perceives himself to be. The difficulty in presenting wasn’t to repeat what I had thought about. The challenge was trying to make everyone else think it through for himself. I liked when our group led the discussion because I felt like we helped everyone become a little more involved in speaking about how self image affects things such as friend and family trust, self confidence and eating disorders.

After seeing how the significant the topic is and how the class is reacting in discussion, I’m more interested in the topic and how others in the class perceive it also. I look forward to branching out more into the subtopics and taking the discussion further as the presentations progress.