A Generational Movement

A Generational Change- Sophia Meador

Flash Fiction:
They tell us we don't have to work for anything; We can't see anything beyond our cell phones; We don't care about anything that doesn't concern us; Our generation is doomed. And maybe they're right. But then explain to me how you don't see us working each day just so we can afford a secondary education? Do you understand that technology is the worlds prime source of communication? And that our generation happens to be the most tech savvy generation yet? Oh, and have you not seen us at rallies for school shootings, woman's rights, and black lives matter? Maybe our generation is doomed, but maybe if you took off your black and white glasses, you could see that we're the generation that will change the world.

Artist Statement:
Generation Z consist of people born between 1995-2010, and contributes to nearly 25% of the world's population. Unlike our preceding generations, we have not lived through WWII, the "Golden Age", disco or the iconic '90s. Instead, we lived through school shootings, immigration crisis's, ongoing political scandals, the birth of modern technology, and breakthroughs in LGBTQ representation. Sadly, many older generations do not reflect on the things we've grown up through, and instead only see our flaws.

Personally, growing up apart of generation Z has affected who I am as a person. Many of the things I've grown up to be passionate about are because of events I've observed while growing up. In my portrait I have a picture of myself staring off into the distance with events, movements and actions in front of me. I did this to show how I've grown up observing these events. Being apart of generation Z has had a direct impact on who and I am, and will be a factor in who I grow up to be.

Reflection

An ongoing question many people have is “Are we born with a personality”. Many believe we

are, and for the most part, those personalities stay steady throughout our lives. Bringing this question

into greater depth, if we are not born with a specific personality, then what shapes it? Is it choices we

make, actions we do? Or is it events we are exposed too, or actions that directly impact us? Maybe an

even harder question is, are people even confined to a single personality, or are we as people just

developing over time. As a society, maybe we need to stop focusing on who or what our personality is

and concentrate on what it means to a have a personality.

In June of 2016, NPR hosted a podcast titled The Personality Myth. What host Alix Spiegel

and Lulu Miller concluded was humans are are not confined to a single personality. Many people have

a routine down and typically act the same in these environments. Thus, their human behavior is

predictable: “We see consistency because we are in consistent situations (Invisibilia)”. However, they

claim that our personality is dictated by the environment we are in. So, if someone was in an

unpredictable environment, their attitude, or what they may consider their personality is bound to

change. Because the environment around us confirms our behavior, we can not limit ourselves to one

specific personality. As humans, we are in a consistent routine, but if the routine were to change, so

may how we approach the situation, so, we do not have a single personality.

Psychologist, Brian Little, has a very different perspective on how personality is formed. In a Ted

Talk called Who are you, really? The puzzle of personality, Little concludes that our personalities

are mostly dependent on whether we are introverts or extroverts. He claims that our personality type

influences our life’s outcome: “These demotions have implications for our well-being (Puzzle)”. Little

then goes on to state that our “Personal Projects”, or activities that play a key role in our lives is what

makes us makes our personalities unique. He gives a personal example, “I’m an introvert, but I have

a core project, which is to Profess. I’m Professor (Puzzle)”. To summarize Little's theory, everyone’s

personality is dependent on how they interact with others, but, it's personal projects that set us apart

from others.

While both theories of personality contradict each other, I believe that they are both true. I believe

that being an introvert or extrovert would be the basis of our personality, except we don’t have a

constant personality to set up. What I have concluded from both sides is that we as humans have

introvert or extrovert tendencies embedded in us, and that's the format if how we tend to act. But,

because we find typically in the same situations we don’t typically change. Finally, I don’t believe

everyone is bound to a single personality. While I do believe we have the same tendencies embedded

in us, through time and exposure we change our perspectives and how we act.

In the past 2 months, my views on personality have changed drastically. Before this class, I thought

everyone had a personality since birth and it stayed consistent throughout their lives. Now, after this

unit, I can say that I don’t believe we are confined to a single personality, but rather we have a set of

traits that stay consistent in repeated routines but may change in different environments. In this class

I have also learned about how exposure influences your beliefs and thought process. Relating back to

my flash fiction and portrait, I can conclude that observing events such as MeToo movement, Parkland

shooting, and the immigration crisis, etc. have shaped my beliefs, and perspectives on different

situations. I think these beliefs go beyond personality, and are now a part of who I am as a person

because they change how I look at life.

Citations

Rosin, Hanna, and Alix Spiegal. “The Personality Myth.” NPR, NPR, 24 June 2018, www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia/482836315/the-personality-myth.

TED. “Who Are You, Really? The Puzzle of Personality | Brian Little.” YouTube, YouTube, 19 July 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYvXk_bqlBk.