GE 01

FINAL
Reflection Paper

Jonathan H. Gepanao
BSCS-1 Section 1946

Mr. Mark Jan N. Marfil

Instructor
Jonathan H. Gepanao
BSCS 1st Year, Section 1946

REFLECTION PAPER

Understanding the "Self" is a very crucial thing to be understood by a person.

When a person learns to understand the concept of self in various aspects, it can
improve their way of life and enlighten their entire existence. Reaching this level is
like reaching the endgame of everything. There isn't anything more life has to offer
and it's just like you reach the bottom of the cliff. In a nutshell, it's like you're truly
whole. Even though I haven't figured out everything that I need to learn in order to
fully understand the "Self", I will do my best to answer and reflect on every
question that this reflection paper holds.

The concept of self can be seen from many different perspectives, like religion,
sociological, philosophical, traditional, psychological, spiritual, scientific, and
many more. But here is my summary of all of that. First is the PHILOSOPHICAL
perspective. We all know that the philosophers in the past always questioned
everything that existed that didn't have answers. Most of them argue and focus on
the true nature of self because it doesn't have clarity on what self truly defines.
The concept of self in philosophical perspective stretches into different opinions
by different philosophers, so it doesn't have just one definition. Some suggest that
the self has its own consciousness. Some philosophers say that there is no self
but only a bundle of constantly changing perceptions. Others say the self is a
spiritual being. It may be too many, but the main focus of philosophical
perspective is on describing and understanding the being-ness and existence of
the human individual and what self is made of: mind, body, and soul, and whether
they are distinct, separated from each other, or [Link], is the
PSYCHOLOGICAL perspective. The idea of the self in psychology refers to a
person's perception of being an independent being who is distinct from others and
has a sense of continuity through place and time. The experience of the self
includes consciousness of one's physique as well as one's inner character and
emotional life. The study of self-psychology focuses on either cognitive
(thoughts) or affective (feelings) and psychomotor (actions). Third, is the
SOCIOLOGICAL perspective of self. In sociology, the self is a set of perceptions
of who we are in relation to others, the social system, and ourselves. The self is
socially formed in the sense of being shaped through interacting with other
people, where every individual is not just a participant but one who has a powerful
influence that plays a part in the process of forming the self.
Understanding oneself means having good knowledge about yourself, including
being aware of your own feelings and characteristics. When you fully
understand yourself, you become a better version of yourself. Like, you are
aware of what you feel, and why do you feel that, or why do you behave like that.
It is important to understand oneself because it gives a person freedom to
change things about himself or herself, allowing a person to live the life that he
or she desires. Understanding oneself matters because it gives us a key to
understanding ourselves better, and will give us great control over our thoughts
and emotions. Self-knowledge, on the other hand, is a very important thing for a
person to obtain. We can't have a better life if we don't fully know ourselves. Our
everyday lives will be trapped in a never-ending loop of poor living caused by
ignorance, fear, and indifference. Self-knowledge is indeed important because
it will lead one to have a realistic decision, which is one of the key aspects to
having a meaningful life, making that individual much superior to those who
don't know themselves. Most people are ignorant about these, but those key
aspects are at high risk due to lack of self-knowledge, affecting the person's
career choices, choosing a lifetime partner, education, etc. In my experience of
understanding the self, I've learnt to fully know myself, but I'm still having
difficulties defining what "self" is because the self has a lot of definitions that
depend on what its perspective is. Since I'm already talking about "self," I would
take this chance to describe my personality and characterize myself. Just like
any other student, I also put in a lot of time and effort studying this subject, but
I'm not complaining about it because if I hadn't, I wouldn't have learned a lot of
things, such as how to correctly characterize myself and describe my
personality very well. This is how I characterize myself: I am a kind son who
respects my mother and father and appreciates all the sacrifices they have
made and will make in order to provide for us. A loving brother that will protect
my siblings at any cost and guide them to the path I think is safe for them. A
loyal lover that will do anything to prove my love. And also a good friend that will
be there for you through ups and downs and won't betray you. I am a
hardworking student that survived all the past years due to the efforts I made,
and I will double those efforts in the remaining years of my life as a student. I
love to watch any genre of movies and series. I enjoy country, rock, and pop
music. I love to play video games on different platforms and I love to draw. Just
like any other person, I also have my own unique personality. I would describe
my personality as a soft-hearted, introverted, not talkative, and funny person. I'm
sure that if my friends, family, and classmates were asked, they would say the
same thing too. I think "self" is related to the person's personality because "self"
is the component that expresses what your personality is. However, "self" is not
equal to "personality" because personality changes overtime, but "self" is
everything. It is your mind, will, and emotions.
We're done defining what "personality" means and describing our character and
personality. Now let's talk about personal growth and the role of money in that
growth. Personal growth refers to an individual's efforts to improve herself or
himself in various dimensions, such as physical, emotional, spiritual, mental,
social, etc. Money is important for personal growth, but just in some aspects. In
some cases, money is important, like when someone's dream of personal growth
is to become wealthy. If an individual wants to grow in emotional and mental
aspects, it will require that individual to spend money so he or she can buy
inspirational books or pay for a psychiatrist or coach. But in most circumstances,
you don't need any material things to achieve personal growth. Sometimes it's all
about happiness and fulfillment, nothing else.

In my experience of learning "Understanding the Self", I learned many things

about the "self", like what is "self", the definition of self in different perspectives,
the importance of understanding one self and self-knowledge, the concept of
self, ego, and personality, and many more. In this subject, I also gained a lot of
knowledge that I think will help me through my journey in life, like getting to know
myself better, what my hopes and dreams are, my thoughts and feelings, and
seeing other people far more deeply than I once did. I believe that truly
understanding the self transformed me into a better person than I was before.
Understanding the nature of my true self brought me closer to what I truly am.