Reality

Reality is a difficult topic to think about. I think that every person has a different reality that they have created for themselves and that is specific to them which causes all people to see the world differently. A good example of this idea was shown in class when we were all looking at the images on the website for the movie Watchmen. The picture started out as a blob of ink and then continued to change shaped into different objects that were not clearly recognizable. When we were all shouting out what we thought the picture was, many times there were three or four different answer for one image. So, in a way, everyone sees what he or she wants to see in an image. What specific image sticks out for each person is usually different and can be affected by what is most recognizable or familiar for someone. A person can recognize certain things more easily than others because of different events they have had, different likes or dislikes that person possesses or other experiences felt by that person. These differences in people could be possible reasons why everyone views things in different light. For example, something that someone is very familiar with will stick out to him or her more often as well as more quickly than something they are not familiar with. Therefore, when a picture cannot be distinctly recognized as a certain object, it is possible for different people to observe the same object to be multiple different things. This theory can also be applied to people’s lives and the realities that they have created for themselves. Though there are certain facts in life that cannot be argued, like the sky is blue when it is a clear day, there are many things in life that are seen in a way that is specific to the person observing it. There are so many different things that seen subjectively by people, it is hard to even think of them. There are some people that over-analyze situations and take meaning from things that were not meant to have any. While there are other people who fail to recognize simple observations about the world they live in. But whichever way a person chooses to be, or unintentionally becomes, no has a “wrong” view of the world. Though some people may see another person’s reality or truth to be false, the real truth is that everything we observe is subjective. All observations are dependent upon the person forming the opinion. Even when we try to stand back and have an objective point of view, intentionally or not we will always see things with our own personal outlook or view. A person’s outlook can be affected by the many experiences that have happened in their life. Different views on the world can also just be caused by the simple fact that everyone has a different personality and different genetics. Some other reasons why people’s observations of the world are different could be because there are many different cultures as well as different socioeconomic backgrounds, societal statuses and other factors that affect a person’s reality. If you are a poor, married, farmer and father of four from Oklahoma City, you are going to have different wants, needs, goals, and view points then a single, budding, female movie star from Vancouver or a widowed, extremely wealthy investment banker from New York City, or a struggling, single mother and artist from London. There are many things that can determine a persons’ reality. Some of these things we are unable to control, while others are things we choose to make important or unimportant in our lives. But no matter how a persons’ reality is made, there are a few things we know for certain; No two people have the same outlook on the world. No one’s reality is wrong or untrue. Every person in this world observes things differently, even if the differences are very small.