Philosophical

In philosophical perspective, philosophy has always sought to answer life's difficult

questions and has relentlessly pursued answers to these matter how seemingly futile the quest
may be. I learned a lot with this perspective especially in answering the question “Who am I ",
this question may be the most difficult to answer but no matter how difficult this question is, we
cannot ignore the question and leave it unanswered. Many people would ask this question to
themselves .The one thing I can say with the wholeness of my heart is that I don't particularly
know who I am yet. Because of that question, I am very thankful because it helps me to deepen
my knowledge to understand myself. In philosophical perspective, we can also build our ideas.
Philosophy is very important to our life because it allows us to have personal thoughts and
feelings. As well as the ability to seek connection between mind, body, and spirit. Everything we
have learned in the philosophical perspective can be used in some way or another in our lives.
One of the best philosophers that I've learned in philosophical perspective in understanding the
self is Socrates with his famous line “An unexamined life is not worth living ", I choose this line
because it is applicable in our real life. We all know that life is a matter of choice, we have many
choices in life. I can say that Socrates is really an intelligent philosopher. In life, we have to
examine our self for us to know where we are in the present. For that, we will be able to discover
our good and bad sides. In examining our selves we will also discover the things that could make
us happy complete and fulfilled. Socrates also taught us whether you are bad person, you can still
change. Our past is important but our present is more important. The present gives us to change
our self. Without questioning and wondering, life and philosophy would be worthless. We have
also to keep in mind that our lives are worth living, whatever your life may look like, be patient,
examine where you are now, how you feel, and what were your joyful moments. But I know that
there is a really true friend in all life situations and he is God, even we have many problems we
are facing right now. I know that He loves us and He is always there to guide us. But let us
always remember that we hold the steering wheel of our own life. We have the capabilities to
manage and create decisions for our life in order to live the life that we dream of and lets always
remember that our life is worth living for because of the people that surrounds us that makes us
strong and happy, and if ever we are down let’s just think of those happy memories that we
treasured. Let's just remember that life is too short not to be happy so let's enjoy and relax to the
long wonderful journey of life.
 Socio-anthropological

Socio-anthropological is all about the beliefs, culture and traditions of every societies.
We all know that Filipino are so hospitable, because when there is a guest came to our houses,
regardless how small our houses is, we will do our best just to make them comfortable. We
prepare delicious foods and etc. And we always show the care to them even though we barely
know them. Even they are from other countries or not, we should treat them right. Traditions is
very important to our society because it provides the sense of identity for every people in a
society. As we grow up, we adjust ourselves and our culture to where it could be beneficial to us.
Some people usually ask why a certain society dresses up this way, speaks that way, believe and
practice this or that. Culture definitely answers all these in a perfect sense. The reason why
people exhibit particular traditions and customs in their community is because of culture that is
their shared knowledge. Culture is changes from time to time. Most of us go to church every
sunday. Because of that religious Filipinos builds relationship for every individual to the spiritual
things that they have regarded as holy and worthy of their highest reverence. Being a religious
one also considered as the means that brings comfort to the people whenever they deal with the
truth of life and death and anything in between. Most concerns known as prayers of religious
people are directed to the gods and spirits they believe in. They perform in religious activities
such as meditations and rituals mostly done in institutions also participated by other believers
and worshipers. We all know that Spaniards influences Christianity to Filipinos, that's why we,
Filipinos are very religious. Most of us go to church every Sunday. We should love and preserve
these culture and tradition so that true Filipino traits and culture will last as the technology years
goes by because the Filipino culture and tradition is one of the reason why we are so proud that
we are a Filipino. We don't need to adapt the culture of other countries if we adapt their culture
we tend to forget our own culture and it will come to the future the culture will no longer be
remembered, that's we should love our own culture and tradition.
Psychological Self

In psychological self, I learned a lot with this topic in understanding the self. Most of the
time, we are too hard on ourselves because of the many expectations we have. In this topic it
talks about your ideal self and real self. How we can understand our self better if we are not
honest with our self in the first place. Some of us are still aiming to be with our ideal self and
why we are not contented with our real self ? In our class in understanding the self last week.
Our teacher gave an activity to us and she told to us that we write what want to say to our
classmate. But I was shocked when I got my paper, I received a lot of positive comments from
my classmates. And for that, I will be always a good person. I really appreciate what they told to
me. We should happy and contented on our real self because God gave this to us. I realized that
if you want something to your self, you should find to take a risk to your self. We should be
grateful who we are right now and always be humble. Ideal self is more about our interest and
wishes, the way we would like to see our self. In this topic psychological self, it helps me to
improve my self confidence. I was a shy type person but with the this I made my self so proud I
would be able to communicate and participate during our class discussion. We will never be able
to avoid our past experiences even if it is a good or bad but we can always choose to learn from
them and use to our advantage and for our improvement. This will be a good motivation to our
real self and to strive to attain and not to revenge or to pull down other people. When we what
we want in our ideal self, we should focus on the positive and good and we should not focus to
negative and bad. Life was never meant to be easy, it’s a constant struggle. Life may be
imperfect but we can work with that and we can use it to our advantage. We all know that we
have the ability to improve our self. No matter what happened in the past, no matter what is
happening right, we can do something. I feel so good because I believe to my self that I can do it.
And for that I will continue to improve my self confidence. We need to stop comparing ourselves
to other people. We all know that we have the ability to improve our self better. We need to
continue in investing our selves in learning so that we will become a successful someday. We
should always be humble at whatever level we have in our life. Just hang in there and continue
persevering and keeping the faith.
Physical self

Each one of us have our own insecurities. Especially when it comes to physical
appearances. Based on my observation to our country, if your skin is dark, if you are fat, if you
have many acne in your face and etc., some said that you are not beautiful or handsome. Because
we're living in a judgmental country. People with many acne in his/her face experience bullying.
This caused many of us to lose confidence to ourselves . Some people with acne, fat, dark skin
they experience bullying, that’s why they felt like they don't belong here because no one likes
them. That’s why some are committing suicide because they can't take it anymore. Too much
sadness, too much worries. For example, when Xander Ford undergo surgery. Xander Ford
wants to become more attractive. Then after the surgery Xander Ford got so many bashers
especially in social media. Because in our society, there is always a pressure to look good and to
seek a visually better version of our selves. Some people buying beauty products no matter how
expensive that product they are still buy just to become attractive. When it comes to beauty, self
acceptance matters. We should not stick on physical appearances. No matter what they say about
you, never lose your courage to bring out the best in you, because every time we look in the
mirror, we need to remind our selves that we are full of our parent's love, care and acceptance .
There is nothing more important than to learn, to accept and embrace who we are, with all the
beauty, flaws and imperfections because this is the only way that we can live in peace and peace
with our selves. We should love and contented to our selves because God gave this to us. Take
time to notice and appreciate the beauty in our soul. Let us stop bullying other people, let us stop
pulling other people down and let us stop judging other people by the way they look. We should
be patient in the process of growth and change. Don’t waste your life trying to impress people.
Don’t lose yourself in things that aren’t true to who you are. Please don’t keep trying to fit into a
shape that doesn’t suit you. We are God’s precious child. Who we are begins and ends with Him.
Stop letting this world, people, or your pain define you. All we have to do is to believe in our self
and embrace it. Acceptance. No one is perfect.
Sexual self

Our sexuality is a part of who we are. Whether we feel comfortable talking about it or
not, it is undoubtedly as aspect of our selves that the earlier we properly learn about then we can
understand who we are and who we can become. With this chapter we may know better on how
to take care and protect our selves and even those who we love. For example when we have a
family sooner or later, we should learn how the family planning is because this is efficient and
effective plan to fulfill the desire of spouses to have the desired number our of childrens and to
have the proper care of them. When we talk about sexual self, we are referring to the feelings we
have about our body, and our level of confidence on how we relate intimately to someone else. It
is also what you bring of yourself, both emotionally and physically, to sex and relationships.
What you do with that and how we share that with someone else. Sexual self affects every sexual
choice we make whether we limit our self sexually and how, and whether we choose to use
protection or not. I have my own interest and I have something what I want to do besides dating
with girls. My physical developments have some effects on my character of today. I think it is
because I am fat than others. During my adolescence, I experienced a lot of things. The best
things I can do now is to finish my education so that I have a chance of working, as well as so
that I can help to teach my children better. In this chapter, I believe that some people did not
really choose to be like the person that they are now. We should all realize that we are all
different and unique and that we’re all like that for a reason. I've also realized that people are
different and that they’re like that for a certain reason. There is still much to learn and much to
do for us to be able to better understand ourselves and even improve who we are everyday for the
greater good. There is nothing wrong with trying to change yourself if you’re gonna change for
the better. Be who you want to be and be what you want to be.
Digital self

Social media is an excellent way to express ourselves. Whether it be via Facebook status,
twitter updates, mydays, photos we share, probably these are all the reflections of our
personalities. We want to boost our self-esteem to people upload photos and statuses online that
they feel will receive likes or reacts and positive feedback to us. Social media has already
became part of every adolescents, kids, adults and even some oldies nowadays. We need social
media because through these, we will be updated in the happenings in in our country and around
the world. Social media most especially Facebook can build a relationship like my friends. Based
on my observation, one couple started as friends on Facebook and then they got to know each
other through private message then they fall in love each other. Social media serves as the
medium for us to be ourselves, to be creative, to be the best that we want and most importantly, a
venue for innovative existence. As we all know that, In today’s world everything revolves
around influencing others to do things especially using of social medias like Facebook,
Instagram, twitter and etc. For example, I am able to look for friends I’ve lost contact with.
Through Facebook, I have actually been able to rekindle old friendships. With the use of social
I'll be able to communicate my friends and relatives who are in other countries. I also have a
chance to connect with new people. It is amazing how some I’ve met some of my friends through
social media, especially on Facebook. For example, in twitter you can post you can share your
feelings and emotions with this type of social media. You can share whatever you want to share.
You can express your thoughts and emotions. For example, when you have a problem then you
can't tell to your friends or anybody that's why that is the use of twitter. The beauty of Twitter is
that it can be whatever you want it to be and tweet your own thoughts. During my junior high
school year, my Facebook was created and I was so ignorant before. I posted non sense pictures
and liking rude pictures and i chatted anonymous people. As an advice to my fellow people who
are using social media, we should be responsible enough in everything when it comes to social
media. We make sure that we secured enough so we won't experience any issues.
Spiritual self

In this chapter, in every individual has a spiritual belief and practice that creates a pattern
in their lives and set the standard for one's morality. The practice of religion is restricted more
than the belief as this will affect other people. It may include worships, rites, rituals, sacrifices,
fiesta and etc. There will also be dances, meditation, celebrations, matrimonial, funeral and
baptismal services and many more. There is no doubt that we are deeply religious people. As a
roman catholic, when a month of December entered we are all preparing to celebrate the birth of
Jesus, we all know that people are again busy buying stuff for Christmas decorations, gifts, wine,
food, etc. Indeed, Christmas is already around the corner. We are all again pre-occupied in
making preparations for this great occasion. And while we are engrossed with so many things,
we may overlook what is more essential. As it sometimes happens, we can be so wrapped up in
the commercial aspects of the holiday season that we find it difficult to focus on the true
meaning of Christmas. While it is true that we buy things to give to people dear and close to us
the spirit of Christmas, we say we might forget that it is the gift of ourselves that is more
important. No matter what your religious or spiritual practices, you can tap into your individual
sense of spirit by doing and listen to your intuition and taking quiet downtime to reflect, journal,
meditate or pray whatever helps you feel more connected to yourself. We should always be
grateful for the awareness our spiritual self and continue to ask for opportunities to grow
spiritually. We should seek to know more and know that by using our mind and our heart, we can
have the full power of our worth.
Political self

In this chapter, we all know that Filipinos are hospitable, respectful, God fearing, family-
oriented and etc. Based on my observation, some Filipinos kissing the hand of the elders while
saying "mano po" and Filipinos are have a habit of smiling and laughing a lot. I also observed
that Filipinos have the attitude in arriving late especially when there is a program or doing a
requirements and parties and etc. For example, we planned to do our video presentation then me
and my group mates planned to be in our meeting place at 9 am but our other group mates came
at 11 am. We have also our superstitious beliefs. For example when we drop a utensils means
that someone’s coming. If a spoon falls, a woman will come. If a fork falls, a man will arrive.
Another example of being hospitable is when we go Suyo, Ilocos Sur to have a medical and
dental mission last November 16, 2019, there is a group of foreigners came to us and they as a
favor to our driver that they want i drop off in their destination which is in Cervantes, Ilocos Sur
then our driver did not hesitate to drop off them to their destination, it means that our shows
respect and hospitality to them even if he doesn't know them. I am very proud that I am a
Filipino. What I like for being is a Filipino is that we are willing to face all the challenges and
hardships just to make sure the the survival of our nation. For example, our national heroes they
risked their lives to gain the independence of our country. Filipinos are brave and we have
nothing to fear. Another example I saw this when I'm watching a random video in Facebook, a
one soldier that shows bravery. Remember a brave soldier who got cornered by Maute Terrorists
during the war in Marawi and called his commander that to bomb his location and that soldiers
said, “bomb my location sir, bomb my location sir!". Imagine how brave that soldier, he risked
his life because he was surrounded by maute groups. That was truly inspirational, a true Hero in
every sense. I hope that this small tribute can somehow provide some sense of comfort to the
family of our nations heroes. We must help each other for have a better country.
Material self

In this chapter, it talks about our material world. Being a materialistic is bad. The
materialistic people hardly treat others as their equals and often go extra mile to show off their
wealth. For example, based on my observation on our barangay, one household loves to buy a
things like motorcycle their motorcycles are short-lived because they have no payment. After the
dealer picked up the vehicle that they purchased. After a month they will go to another
motorcycle dealer to buy their motorcycle again. That’s why spending money to impress others
is the ultimate waste.

For example, when we go for a shopping, we should not buy the product when that
clothing is expensive. We should be practical on buying our clothing. Buying clothing from
“Ukay-ukay” doesn't mean you're poor, buying from it, is being practical in life. I would say that
I am not a materialistic person and I won’t deny that I buy a stuff just to look good. I only buy
new the things when I have a savings and I don’t want to ask money to my parents to buy things.
Highly materialistic people believe that owning and buying things are necessary means to
achieve important life goals, such as happiness and success. Real friends love you whether
you’re rich, poor, successful, or struggling. They won’t mind if you waste your money on
branded clothing. I only buy new clothes when there is event in our school for example,
acquaintance party or when there is a debut of my friend. I also buy a food for me when I’m
hungry. I’m happy when I buy these to me. We need to know how to use our money. When we
have children sooner or later, we should teach them that instead of buying expensive things that
we never had before when we are was like them, we should teach them that we have to be
practical. We should teach our children all the things we never taught because a material wears
out, but knowledge stays.
 Republic of the Philippines
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN PHILIPPINES
2700 Vigan City

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND ACCOUNTANCY

Website: www.unp.edu.ph Mail: unpcbaaeagles@gmail.com
Tel. #: 632-0601

A Reflection Paper

Presented to the

Faculty of the Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy

University of Northern Philippines

Vigan City, Philippines

In partial fulfilment of the subject

Understanding the Self 101

Submitted by: WILLIAM BELL Q. VENUS

BSBA 1-C

Submitted to: KRISTINA CAMILLE PACRIS, RPm

Subject Instructor

1st Term (S.Y. 2019 – 2020)