Self-Portrait

The photo of myself differs from the symbolic representation on me in many ways. First, the photo of me only shows what I look like, not what I like do to. The icons and symbols that were put together in the representation that describes me is symbolic for what I like to do and what makes me. The photo of myself shows my face and my hair and eye color, but there is no explanation as to whom I am and what events occurred in my life to get me to that place.  Another thing that differs is the look of the photos. Although they are both me, one is physically me and one is things that make me. The ‘physical me’ is there and behind my smile is everything that you see in the second photo that is just a representation. The second representation of me is not all of me, there is much more than meets the eye or than I will admit. These are just a few symbols and ideas that have carried with me throughout my life.

A viewer’s perspective of these symbols can change who they think I am. A viewer and myself may not see eye to eye on the meaning of some of the images that I chose.

The areas of intersection between the photo and the collage that represents me lay in the energy that I give off. From my smile you can see that I am happy, which is what the balloons represent. Other than that, there are not many other areas of intersection with these two different representations of me. From just looking at the photos there are not many areas of intersection especially because it is just a headshot.

The photos that I chose represent me because they are from my roots and they have are symbols that have expressed who I am throughout my entire life, none of them are temporary. I chose the state of New Jersey because this is where I was born and raised, specifically in Bergen County. I chose to use a picture of a cheerleader because I cheered for my school and town for my entire upbringing until graduating high school; it was a major part of my life. I chose the balloons because I like to party but the busy desk picture represents how hard working I am both with my schoolwork and with my out of school jobs.  I chose the movie reel because I love to watch movies and when I was younger I really enjoyed writing and directing my own movies with friends and family.

In my photo my smile describes me rationally. I am a very happy person and I like to keep my spirits high especially when others aren’t. My smile tells about my kind and generous personality as well as about my openness. I have been called disarming based on my smile by multiple strangers in the past. It’s just a feature that tells my whole personality.