Objectives:

• Evaluate personal values and paradigms around body decoration and physical beauty.
• Investigate how physical appearance affects definitions of identity and belonging.
• Analyze values and belief systems of physical appearance across cultures, sub-cultures and generations.

Original Post:

There are so many different ways that a person can express themselves. The way a person acts, the way they dress, or even the hairstyle they have are all simple forms of expression. I believe there are many different ways in which I express my self and through this expression my personal beliefs and values are shown.

To begin with, I try my best to dress nicely every day. I believe it is very important to look presentable and like you care about what you are doing. I value looking nice and keeping up with my personal hygiene. It is also just enjoyable for me to pick out nice outfits each day and feel good about what I am wearing. Going along with this, I also have my hair grown out pretty long and I enjoy styling it. I think this is another part of looking presentable. I value feeling confident and this is why I like to dress nicely as well as style my hair each day.

There are many core beliefs and values that my family has. To begin with, my family believes that my siblings and I should all get a good education and graduate from college. This is something that has never really been stated, but we all know it to be true. We have simply never even thought of not attending college. I believe that this value of getting a higher education is shown in the way I carry myself as well as the way I dress and act. This relates back to how I value looking nice. I think that looking presentable every day is very important because it causes people to think highly of you. Dressing nicely every day for school shows people that I care about what I am doing and I want to be there getting an education. I also think that if you dress nicely it helps you to feel better about yourself.

I believe that there are also many things that my friends and peers value that cause me to do the things I do. For example, my friends all have ear piercings. I saw this growing up and when I reached a certain age I wanted ear piercings for myself. Most of my friends have two ear piercings in each ear. I found this very appealing and stylish. It was common for people to have ear piercings and I wanted to fit in. However, I also wanted to be unique so I ended up getting three ear piercings in each ear. I felt that this made me different, and I really value being unique as well as being yourself. I think my piercings show this.

Another thing my friends really value is having fun. It is so easy during this time in our lives to get caught up in the stresses of school and extracurricular activities. My friends and I really value stepping back from that and relaxing and having a good time. Because of this, we have had many experiences that are unplanned and spontaneous. For example, there was one night when I was with my best friend when we both wanted to do something fun and exciting. We decided that we should get our belly buttons pierced. We both had wanted this for a while, and since we were out we simply decided to do it. It was very fun and a great bonding experience. Now whenever we see our navel piercings we think of that fun night and our exciting times together. Personally, I think this piercing shows that I value having fun and spending time with friends.

Overall, a person’s dress and body adornment can say a lot about them. Each person is unique in the way that they express themselves. It is very interesting to see people’s different beliefs and values expressed through the way they dress, act, and more.

Reflection:

This was one of my favorite assignments. It was intriguing to observe many different people and the way they dress themselves as well as the piercings and tattoos that they have. There are so many different ways a person can present themselves depending on their culture, background, religion, etc. It was very fun to see all of these different people.

This assignment helped me to really evaluate “personal values and paradigms around body decoration and personal beauty”. I was able to realize all the meaning behind someone’s personal adornment. It can represent so many different things.

I also was able to reflect on my own personal adornment. I don’t have any tattoos but I do have ear piercings and a naval piercing. This assignment caused me to think about these things and why I had them.

Future Goals:

Now that I have thought more deeply about dress and personal adornment, I want to appreciate others and celebrate the differences among us. I usually don’t give a second thought to the way a person is dressed or the piercings/tattoos they have. After this assignment, I have realized just how special these things can be and what they can say about a person. In the future I want to appreciate everyone’s dress and personal adornment and maybe even speak with some people about it.