Self-expression Essay, Research Paper

Essay – Self-expression

Self-expression is a way in which a person can express his or her thought processes through hand gestures, writing and verbalization. The ?Webster?s Dictionary? defines it as ?expression of one?s own personality or emotion.? Sometimes, people use hand gestures when they are trying to express a point. Usually, the person doesn?t realize that they are moving their hands. Another way a person can ?expression one?s own personality? is with writing. Journals or diaries are good examples because writers can say anything they want, any way they want. Lastly, verbalization is the most common way people express themselves.

Do you move your hands when you talk? Do you like to use your hands

when you talk in front of an audience? The answer for most people would be

yes. When people express an idea or a thought to someone else, they move their

hands. The ?Webster?s Dictionary? defines gestures as ?a motion of the body made to express thoughts or to emphasize speech.? Some gestures might suggest an emotion or expression a person feels. For example, if a person clenches his or her hands, it might mean that the person is mad or angry. Sometimes, when I play a tennis match and I win a big point, I pump my fist with excitement. If students are really bored or tired, they might put their elbow on the desk and their hand on their cheek. Another example of hand gestures is the middle finger. People use the middle finger when they are mad or angry. For instance, if I were driving and someone cut me off, then I would give them the middle finger. It might not be right, but I expressed my feelings toward them. There are many different gestures that people use in everyday life to express their feelings.

Another method of expressing yourself is writing. People use journals

and diaries to express their inner thoughts and feelings. Through writing,

people can record what they feel and can express themselves in a descriptive well thought out manner. Last week, Mrs. Kelmachter gave the class some time to brainstorm. She chose a topic and had the class write for five minutes on anything that came to mind. This is another way people can express their thoughts through writing. Very often, writing helps people express what they may perceive, feel, think and observe.

Verbalization is the most common way people express themselves.

When people work in groups, every person has an opportunity to express his or her idea. Also, when a teacher asks a question and a student replies, he or she is expressing their thoughts. Different tones of voices usually represents how a person feels. If someone uses a low voice, he or she is usually sad or experiencing grief. On the other hand, if someone is really happy, then he or

she would speak in a high tone with usually a smile on their face. Sometimes, when my mom or dad get angry at me, they speak with a deep, yet firm voice to get my attention. This is one conversation in which my mom expressed herself with a deep, yet firm voice:

My mom: Craig! Get over here now!!

me: What?

mom: What time did you get home last night??!!

me: ummm, around 12:30 (am)

mom: You NEVER called tell me what time you were going to get home!

me: I?m sorry.

mom: SORRY isn?t good enough! YOU ARE GROUNDED!!

me: WHAT?? THAT ISN?T FAIR!!!

mom: LIFE ISN?T FAIR!! GET IN YOUR ROOM, NOW!!

In this conversation, my mom raised her voice to get my attention and proceeded to yell at me. This is one common way verbalization is used to show self- expression.

Self-expression is a wonderful way to communicate to others. It can be expressed in various forms such as hand gestures, writing and verbalization. All share one common factor; they are inner personal feelings and thoughts one uses to let other people know how they feel.