Power of Perception

        As Shabana Mir discussed in both her lecture and article, “You Can’t Really Look Normal and Dress Modestly”, appearance is a crucial part of our identity. Although we may hope and believe that we’re in control of our first impressions, there is something that always gets the chance to speak first – our clothes. Despite our best efforts to reserve judgment until actually getting to know someone, it’s incredibly difficult to not categorize an individual at first glance. Later on, we may be able to look past this initial judgment but nonetheless a first assessment has already been made. It’s hard to deny this aspect of ourselves. It’s how we work to make sense of our surroundings and generally function on a day-to-day basis. The issue to discuss here is the disconnect that occurs between the message we put out and the message that is received.

        What I hope to convey is not always what others pick up on. As such, a fair amount of control lies with the observer. As I was sitting down to consider how religious clothing or paraphernalia factors into identity on campus, I realized that I couldn’t come up with many examples. This may be attributed to the fact that there just simply isn’t a lot of religious clothing worn around campus. Or perhaps it’s because I’m not looking for it. The most common example I could think of was cross necklaces. Do I notice these because they’re most common or because, as a Catholic, this is a symbol I am most attuned to pick up? The answers to the commonality of religious paraphernalia on campus are not ones that I know. However, thinking about this issue drew my attention to the power of perception. It highlighted the fact that while we may like to believe our identity is in our hands, the beliefs and perceptions of our peers in fact play a significant role in our identities. Thus, bringing forth the question of how private is the formation of our identities? Do we internalize the perceptions of self that society throws back at us?