This I Believe: Self Expression

 

By: Christian Creighton COMM 201
Instructor: Nancy Rishor

Of all of the things that I believe in I think one stands high above the rest and that is importance in the expression of ones self. Expression is something very human, something that we can’t hide, something that give us purpose. The expression of one’s true self is a phenomenon that not everyone experiences in there life time.

In my own personal self expression I get the most out of myself when I practice martial arts. To me, in my personal opinion martial arts are the art of naturally and truly expressing ones self. You must always be yourself, have faith and express yourself truly and honestly; you must not go out looking for a personality to duplicate because of someone else’s success. You must stay true and be you. When trying to find what it is that helps you express yourself a teacher can only take you so far, he/she cannot teach you, just help you to truly explore yourself. I personally believe that expression is one of the most important things to achieve in life.

when I was a kid, I was bullied daily by the same people from Kindergarten to Grade 7. It got bad to the point where I would believe the things the kids said to me.  as I got older the more and more overweight I got. Sad to say, but that just added another thing for these kids to tear me apart about. I ended up making two good friends and we stuck together, but because of me they ended up becoming victims as well.

This started to change when I discovered Martial Arts. I got into Jiu-jitsu and Boxing with a little bit of Teakwondo. These things  gave me confidence. My sensei’s never put me down. They cheered me on and helped me discover something very close to my heart. I practiced and practiced more, getting better drove me and took me away from everything, when I was doing martial arts I could freely express myself more than I ever had before.

The bullying went on for a little longer, one day in grade 7 I couldn’t take it anymore. I told the main bully that I was going to fight him, and that I did. I won, but it isn’t about that. Next I told them and the principal exactly how I felt. From that day on they never bullied me ever again. Now I know that it sounds like something straight out of a movie except for the fact that it really happened. That was my life, that’s how I started my journey to self expression. A key to happiness is what I finally discovered. A path to truth within myself. Whenever i need it, I know that Martial arts will let me feel free.

There’s one thing that can set you apart as an individual, there is a uniqueness inside of us all. Just find what you feel free with and take it, embrace it and express yourself with it. At a first glance this all may have seemed kind of preachy, but at its core there is a very inspirational and important message in my opinion. Deep to the center of my core, that is what I believe.

This I Believe (2nd Draft)

Everyone in life is unique in some way shape or form, most people go through life just keeping with the flow. Its like we’re on a conveyor belt going down the line of life. no thoughts of our own and actions only pre-established by someone else. it is in my opinion that since everyone is unique, we should show it. Not many people know how to fully express it, as most just listen to what they are told that they should do rather than what makes them feel free.

I believe in self expression. This can be achieved through any number of things. Take a step back and look at yourself. What is it that you enjoy? What is something that you are passionate about? Find what it is, it doesn’t matter what. It could be, drawing, dancing, music, tattoos, martial arts, etc. In my own personal experience Martial Arts have been a huge factor in my own self expression and awareness. I have always found that I was quite a shy kid growing up, at points in my life I was bullied and ridiculed for being overweight, and for the most part I wouldn’t do a thing about it.

 

When I was twelve years old I discovered Japanese Jiujitsu, and Boxing. This was a giant change in my life, not only did it get me active to lose weight, it also gave me confidence that I had never had before. The best part about it was that I found I was actually good at what I was doing. I was progressing faster than other students and before long I was obsessed. So obsessed in fact that I took the chance to learn many new martial arts like Karate, Aikido, Mauy Thai, Teakwondo, Wrestling, Judo, Kick-Boxing, and Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu. Martial Arts became my passion. I realized that with this one small aspect of life I can express how I feel, move, think, my emotions etc.  In time I discovered the legendary Bruce Lee, and found myself really connecting with his philosophies, and his teachings. The quotes that have always stuck with me and had the biggest connection were the following, “Knowledge in martial arts actually means self-knowledge. A martial artist has to take responsibility for himself and accept the consequences of his own doing. To me, ultimately, martial arts means honestly expressing yourself. Now, it is very difficult to do. It has always been very easy for me to put on a show and be cocky, and be flooded with a cocky feeling and feel pretty cool and all that. I can make all kinds of phony things. Blinded by it. Or I can show some really fancy movement. But to experience oneself honestly, not lying to oneself, and to express myself honestly, now that, my friend, is very hard to do.”  This quote resonated because it was precisely what I had been doing all of these years. Its something that anyone can do, you just have to find what it is that makes you feel free, something where you honestly express yourself  be open to new ideas and concepts.

 

to express yourself completely you must be free of outside thoughts, only doing what is natural yet unnatural at the same time. This is so important in my opinion because it is a step to a happy life. You can have it all, money, women/men, a happy family, and fame but can you truly be one hundred percent happy when you don’t express yourself? Bruce Lee once said “Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.” in order to finding the path to expressing ones self, this is what I believe.