Self Image Drawing

This is a sketch done to reflect on how we view ourselves.

On the first panel, we were asked to draw how we view ourselves in general. I drew a head that is resting upon clouds, surrounded by different things such as books, notes, people, stars, a pencil and words. The sun is shining behind the clouds.

For me, I am a person whose head is always in the clouds. I have always seen myself as someone who lives inside my own head most of the time. My own thoughts consume me but I am happy that way. I can't think of myself being someone else aside from that person whose head is in the clouds. 

The things surrounding me signify the things that I love the most, therefore I always think about. 

These things are (clockwise) 

• Abstract representation of words - I love to write. I write stories, poems, and songs. The squiggly lines above my head represent words. Like the lines above my head, sometimes they are flowing and free. Sometimes they are rigid. This is the main reason why I stay inside my head most of the time. I space out because I am always thinking of the things I am writing (or wanting to write). One can say that I am heavily invested in writing to the point that it consumes more than half of my waking moments. If I am not writing with a pen and paper (or a laptop), I am  writing inside my head.
• Book - Since I love to write, it goes hand in hand that I also love to read. This is not as consuming as writing but the things I read also linger inside my head far longer than an average person. I am mostly into fiction. The books I read inspire me to write more.
• Shapes - The shapes represents art. I don't usually do traditional art but I am greatly inclined towards graphic arts. These things also pop in my head a lot.
• Ukulele - The ukulele represents my passion for music. I sing mostly but I also play instruments like the guitar, ukulele, flute and keyboards. I think about these once in a while, mostly because I have a band whose schedule never seem to work for us. I also compose songs. So once in a while, I would be residing inside my head while I make music.
• Stars - The stars represent my dreams. I don't daydream about my future plans a lot since I have a very simple but clear vision of what my future would be. The dreams I do dream however are those that somewhat fancy, say landing a record deal or writing a song that would be influential someday. This doesn't happen a lot, however, since my time is really invested more in my writing.
• Pencil - This relates to both my penchant for writing and for drawing. When I have enough time, I doodle a lot and draw caricatures of people.
• Stick figures - These represent the people I miss and the friends that I have. I think about them a lot.

In the second panel, we were asked to draw how we saw ourselves at school. I drew myself in a box that sets myself aside from the other people outside the box. I also portrayed myself with stitched lips.

Although this may seem like a grotesque image, it only means that I don't socialize well in school. I tend to keep quiet and sit at the farthest corners. People who know me from outside the school setting would find this really weird because this is the total opposite of the image I have to my friends and other acquaintances. 

This has not always been the case. When I was in my primary up until secondary schooling, I have always been a sociable person. But ever since I entered college, this changed. Maybe it's because I didn't really like my first college. I tend to keep to myself since I'd reason that I didn't like to be in that company for too long. This developed a more introverted personality for me that I still carry up until now. I wish to change it but I just don't know where to start.

For the third panel, we were asked to draw our dreams. I drew a big story book and nothing else. My dream is to write a book for children and illustrate for it too.

As I have mentioned before, I really like writing and graphic arts. I also love children, which is why I would be shifting to Teaching in Early Grades. This all melds into this dream of writing and illustrating children's books. I think it would be nice to be a part of someone's childhood even if I do not get to meet them.

I am also taking Creative Writing 100 this semester. For my final paper, I submitted a story with children as the main characters. I was really glad that someone said that my story could be included in a children's book because that is really my dream.

For the last panel, I drew something similar to the second panel. But instead of a box, I drew a heart with me and a lot of other people. This is how I view myself socially (aside from the school setting, that is). I love surrounding myself with a lot of friends who I care for. I also have a big smile on my face on the last panel as compared to the other portraits of me in this activity, to emphasize how I am really happy when surrounded by friends.


To sum up this activity, I should say that I realize that there are different sides of me depending on the setting and situation. I am a different person alone, at school and with my friends. I also have a simple dream that I hope to achieve in the future.