Preview

Belonging Groups

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1186 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Belonging Groups
‘The groups we reject show us who we are just as much as the groups we choose to join.’
For some individuals, there is a need to belong to a group to be able to develop their own identities. The price of assimilating to a particular group, however, is without the mirror that groups offer, there is no way of accurately determining our own characteristics. On the other hand, there are consequences of not being emotionally connected to any collective group. Either way, the groups we join or the groups we reject can both effectively show us who we are and indeed formulate our ongoing identities.
No matter who we are, each of us are born in our own unique location and time and therefore are subjected to the experiences that particular environment
…show more content…
The invisible collective attitude and pressures supresses’ individuality and devastatingly results in a fragmented internal identity and disconnection with reality. It does however, offer some benefits. In joining a social group of friends, colleagues or religion, club other activities, it THE CHOICE reveals our individual values, morals and goals that are shared in common. It offers a sense of belonging where we are able to feel most comfortable, explore further patterns of existence and growth. On the other hand, the groups we consciously choose to reject further reveals our inner core values and morals that we possess. Rejecting groups further consolidates our identity, strength en s our perceptions of right and wrong and ultimately serves a mirror in which we can reflect our self. Though our identity is in a state of flux and constancy, rejection of any group protects us from …show more content…
This may not always be positive. Prolonged periods of isolation inevitably results in a deep and destructive contemplation of life long regrets, love and lost. It is these periods in our lives, where our search for soul, unveils a series of revelations in which we discover our identity and understand what has define it. Reflecting on my journey from 1997 to 2015, the groups I have joined has no doubt influenced my identity and my outlook on life. With any group, however, a sub-conscious level of hesitation is evident in my refusal to be fully submerged. Is the family you are born in a group that you are forced to join? What happens when you are neglected, lied to and betrayed? Is that still your family? Is that still your group? As I sink into abysmal hopelessness and despair, I question my identity. Perhaps UNCONDITIONAL acceptance of my current / peer groups I am in and not is as opposing to trapping myself in a paradigm of self-justification, rationalisation and depression, will allow growth and opportunity in which I can find my identity and know where I belong. Our environment governs our identity and so does the groups that it offers that we join or reject???????. Either way they reveal something deep in us. But perhaps it’s just an illusion and this over-analysis has more consequences than benefits. A balance between perception and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The need to belong to a community, society or environment can shape ones behaviour, action and attitude, Through the experiences and the choices made in the processes of belonging, an individual’s identity will develop but may create barriers which they must overcome to be accepted.…

    • 282 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Groups influence people in positive and negative ways. Looking at research and studies we will see how the roles we play in groups can influence our behaviour. We will see how groups we gravitate to help raise our self-esteem and give us a sense of belonging but at the same time how conflict is created with other groups. Groups we belong to help to give us a sense of identity but we will see how we can lose this as we conform to group behaviour and the impact this can have. Finally, we will look at Kondo’s research and how changing cultures slowly changed her identity and how this affected her on her journey emphasising her positive and negative influences.…

    • 1128 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Belonging in some instances cannot be beneficial for ones wellbeing. Negative consequences may arise from the way in which one develops belonging. Barriers to belonging can be imposed or voluntarily constructed, and allowing one to distort the barriers can affect the way one belongs to people, places, groups or the larger world.…

    • 1293 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Throughout our lives, everyone that we share bonds with and interact with on a regular basis, either forms or has some sort of influence on our identity. Consequently, the majority of us naturally find ourselves striving to fit in with these people, especially during the tough transition from childhood to adulthood. It is this part of the human condition that makes us feel as though we must forge ties with something outside of ourselves in order to establish a strong sense of existence and a clear understanding of who we are. Although most individuals are able to make these connections with others naturally, others who stray from the social norm might not be so fortunate, but rather than accepting their feeling of non-existence, may be forced to deny the need to belong entirely in order to continue to express their own unique identity. It can also be argued that this idea is not as black and white as it seems, because although not all connections are essential to our sense of self, some such as the bonds we share with our family are critical to the formation of our identity. Furthermore, the nature of a connection itself is complicated, as it is not always a fluid thing that occurs naturally; for some it is a choice, one which can mean the difference between social acceptance and seclusion.…

    • 1763 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Have you ever felt an innate desire to connect to another human being but you were inhibited by the expectation that you may be rejected by mainstream society. People often crave to belong to a group however; it can be fraught with difficulties. Both the film “My life as a house” and the novel “One flew over the Cuckoos nest” by Ken Kesey encapsulate the difficulties with belonging to a group as they are obscured by multiple barriers presented in the beginning.…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Belonging to a community or a group has a significant impact on an individual sense of belonging.…

    • 1275 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Belonging essay

    • 7982 Words
    • 32 Pages

    Belonging o Acceptance within a community generates a sense of “us” as a distinct group, different from ‘others’ who exist…

    • 7982 Words
    • 32 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    australian vision essay

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Each of us have Aspects of belonging that shape us, whether it be personal or social.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Spirit Day Research Paper

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In life the desire to be accepted by people and belong to a group is an undeniable human need. But how does this need affect an individual? Throughout my school years, I have noticed many times that the groups that I was in could change my thoughts, feelings, and behavior about the things around me.…

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In having a sense of belonging, one must always have a clear understanding of their identity. This is because the groups we attach ourselves with throughout the journey of life resemble features of our own personality. So when one lacks the knowledge of their own self, in finding somewhere or something to belong to which suites and allows them to be comfortable, it is almost impossible.…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Belonging Speech

    • 944 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Belonging is a gift we all require. It colours who we are and how we fit into the world around us. The hunger for the need to belong to groups or places is what drives us and is common to all humanity. A famous quote from the Bible states ‘How good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity’. Throughout our life, the ever-changing personal, social and cultural contexts can transform ones sense of belonging and self identity. Levels of connectedness with friends and family will change over time and can be positive or negative.…

    • 944 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    simple gift

    • 1744 Words
    • 7 Pages

    vital for the individual to develop a sense of belonging, and help prevent alienation. ‘…

    • 1744 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The Formation of In-Groups” by Gordon Allport is very compelling article that contemplates and discusses the conception of the different in-groups of our society, and how each individual values themselves in relation to their various groups. The article begins by explaining that the things that are familiar in our lives, although they may not always be positive, hold a certain value (Allport). From a very early age young children are able to understand that they are part of a particular group. As Gordon Allport stated, a child as young as five is capable of a sense of ethnic identification but until he is around nine or ten he will not understand what his membership signifies- how for example Jews differ from gentiles, or Quakers from Methodists, but he does not wait for this understanding before developing his strong sense of loyalty to his group. A lot of this loyalty stems from the rewards that we receive from our own particular in-group (Allport).…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Belonging

    • 780 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “In their search for belonging, individuals must navigate the pressures that impact on their identity”…

    • 780 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Belonging to a social group builds character and identity. Contrastingly, alienation forces one to ask why they are alone and thus the strength of identity is challenged.…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays