Yesterday I ran across some school work that one of my son's had done in 4th grade. The students had put together a portfolio of their best work of the year, and included a little introduction describing themselves. There were some very insightful things my son noted about himself and his personality. But what really struck me was the equal weight given to all of his observations. They weren't listed in this order, but in the short essay these were the items he felt important enough to include:
I have brown hair.
I am flexible.
I am smart.
I like steak.
I don't do many sports.
I don't like writing.
I am solitary.
I have hazel eyes.
I have a cat.
I like science.
I don't take help when I should.
I have a fish.
I have a brother.
As adults, do we look at ourselves in the same way? Is our hair color as notable as our intelligence? Is our favorite food as important as our family structure? I was impressed with the matter of fact way he noted some of his weaknesses, and the matter of fact way he noted some of his strengths. They are equally descriptive, but no more important than his hair color or favorite food. I wonder when we start to give greater weight to different aspects of our personality and self image. Is there a developmental stage in which we start to differentiate our self description?
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