Скачать или смотреть GEC101 - Understanding the Self Final Output (Video Performance)

This video is for educational purposes only.
Edited by: John Lloyd Solana

Final Requirement in Understanding the Self (GEC101)

Piece title: Understanding The Self: An Open Letter

I stand before you today
not as someone complete,
not as someone certain,
but as someone
finally
learning to understand myself.

They say the self is a journey,
a lifelong unfolding of parts
I once thought were scattered,
broken,
or unworthy of being seen.
But here I am,
holding each piece slowly,
carefully,
as if they have always deserved tenderness.

I begin with the physical self
this body,
this face,
this skin I used to apologize for.
I once believed my flaws were loud,
and my worth was quiet,
that my reflection was a verdict
instead of a story.
But understanding the self taught me:
my body is not a battlefield,
but a home.
A home that changes,
a home that heals,
a home that carries every step I’ve taken,
even the ones I thought would break me.

Then comes the social self
the version of me shaped by eyes that watch,
voices that judge,
and expectations heavy enough
to bend my spine.
I wore masks so well,
I began to forget the face beneath.
Smiled when I wanted silence,
agreed when my heart screamed otherwise.
I shrank myself to fit rooms
that were never meant to hold my truth.
But now I realize:
autonomy is not rebellion,
and authenticity is not a crime.
I deserve spaces
where my voice does not need permission to exist.

And somewhere between who I am
and who I perform to be
lies the ideal self
the dream version of me.
Stronger. Wiser. Unshakeable.
For years I chased them
as if they were a trophy,
as if every mistake I made
pushed me farther away from them.
But now I see
my ideal self is not a threat,
but a guide.
Not a reminder of what I lack,
but a vision of what I can become.
They are my compass,
not my chains.

Then there is the real self
the one I try to hide
because it trembles,
because it doubts,
because it still heals from wounds
nobody ever apologized for.
But this real self,
this unedited version of me—
this is where my power truly lives.
In my contradictions,
in my softness,
in my courage to continue
even when the path feels unfamiliar.

And when I place these all selves together
physical, social, real, ideal
I understand something:
I am not supposed to have all the answers.
I am supposed to grow into them.

Understanding the self is not memorizing theories,
not labeling parts of who we are.
It is learning how to look in the mirror
without flinching.
It is allowing yourself to change
without guilt.
It is forgiving who you were,
honoring who you are,
and embracing who you are still becoming.

So today,
I stand in the middle of my past and my future,
holding the present like a fragile truth.
I am unfinished,
but not lost.
I am growing,
but not late.
I am learning,
but never lacking.

This is me
a work in progress,
a becoming in motion,
a self seen through my own lens,
finally understood,
finally accepted,
finally mine.

And maybe
just maybe
this is the most powerful thing
I will ever learn.