essay

A sense of belonging shapes a sense of self


Belonging is an inherent human condition in which we strive for acceptance and
security through others. A sense of belonging is vital for our survival and existence, as belonging reinforces our self-confidence and shapes a sense of self.    The need to belong to a group or a community shapes our behaviour, attitudes and actions. This was displayed clearly in the Film “Skins”, where Sandra’s sense of belonging was moulded and manipulated, due to where she placed in society.  As people grow their values and codes change due to changes of relationship, groups and communities they belong to and are rejected by.

To whom and where we belong heavily impacts on our identity and sense of self. People belong if they have similar interests, values, heritage, place, points of view, socio-economic status and culture. It is those people who surround us that influence our behaviour, attitudes and actions in every day life and often mould how you feel about yourself as a person. “We are driven by five genetic needs: survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun.”- William Glasser. This quote clearly signified that it is part of our nature to belong and it is only when you belong or even are rejected, that you shape your identity and sense of self.

Sandra’s characteristics from the film “Skins” often fluctuated and changed to which social groups she belonged to. She was often unsure about how she felt and never developed a great understanding about her self. Due to the constant debate on the racial group she belonged to, Sandra never felt apart of either as she never developed a sense of belonging to either, and never had the opportunity to discover and shape herself. It was if though the grass was always greener on the other side, and she could never truly decide who she really wanted to belong to. She grew up as a confident girl but was never considered to be completely either ‘White” or “Black”, causing her to not understand herself and who she truly was. Belonging is essential to discover and shape who you are.

As people change and grow we start to develop our own set of values and codes to which we conform. These values are developed throughout early childhood and into adulthood through personal affiliations and experiences with the groups we belong to and get rejected by. We learn to judge and alienate people who are different in any means to ourselves. Mainly in terms or height, weight, skin color and culture, therefor allow us to helps us understand and shape our sense of self. The more we grow, the more groups we belong to, the more we belong, the more we understand our sense of self.

Without belonging it can be very difficult to shape you as a person. Whether it is to whom and where we belong, or the change and growth of the people you belong to, belonging is vital in discovering and shaping a sense of self. Sandra is key example of how essential it is to belong and the impact of what not belonging can do and how detrimental it can be in manipulating and molding who you are.





INTRODUCTION

Firstly what is fast food? Even though you may be very close minded about the limitation of the range of fast food, but fast food comes under a broad category in what essentially is food which is served in a quick manner, according to the dictionary fast food is easily prepared processed food served in snack bars and restaurants as a quick meal or to be taken away. Our generation especially are exposed to a lot of fast food, the most obvious would be Mc Donald’s, which actually the “M’  logo representing the organization is more recognized to than the crucifix, and other such as pizza hut, donut king, boost juice, sumo’s salad, pancake parlor. These are all mainly large organizations, yet there are very high amounts of small and medium sized business’s in the fast food industry. In 2011 Australia was expected to have spent a net worth of $37 billion on takeaway food, this makes Australia 11th biggest spending fast food nation in the world. This number is constantly on the incline and will continue to grow over they years. Australia is home to approximately 25,000 businesses and contains around 150,000 employee’s and having a taxation revenue of $16 billion. Maybe fast foods a good thing in some respect, (apart from the extreme health issues and obesity for future and current generations)