Anti-Self Portrait

I agree with rachel.nia because, like her, I did not choose to put my name next to my anti-self portrait and I did not expose myself as much as other people. I appreciate everybody who did and I believe I will be able to later when I have figured out more who I am, although it is a long process that nobody is ever fully finished with. My anti-self portrait I think was more for myself than as a way for others to know who I am. It helped me to figure out more who I am. Mine was the outline of the woman with colorful words surrounding her.

I struggled with the idea of an anti-self portrait in the beginning because I believe that we are all so complex thta one picture cannot fully capture who we are as a person. But when I figured out I could choose one element of myself: my insecurity about myself, it became easier. The words surrounding the woman are all inspirational quotes and song lyrics that are important to me. One is part of a song that my mom sang to me every night before I went to bed, others are songs that are about people standing up for what they believe in. The outline of the woman defines me and reminds me that I can surround myself with all of those powerful words and face whatever is coming my way. It is purposefully not a picture of me because I feel like I defy many categories that people try to put me into. I also had trouble opening myself up to people when the Haverford students were there because they have not been present every day in class as we discover how we define ourselves and how we define feminism.