Advanced Essay #3: Clouded Self Identity

My goals for this essay were to talk about something so  i'm mom affects ones self identity. Also, my goal was to work on expanding my bigger idea as much as possible. I am very proud of how efficiently I expressed my bigger idea.

The way smoking impacts identities is so eye opening. It is away to conform to society. Some do it to look cool or make friends that they feel like they wouldn’t be friends with otherwise. Sometimes, this becomes your identity because you listen to other people’s perceptions of you. They tell you that you aren’t cool or interesting, but that smoking makes you look cooler. Your face expresses that chill nonchalant look you have knowing that you’re ruining your lung health with every puff. But that coolness masks the real issue. Many do it to get rid of stress. Lighting the end of the cigarette on a cold winter day. The minty taste of a menthol followed by the  relaxation of the exhale. It’s a relief. Though cigarettes are as addictive as heroin, the addiction barely treated. The chemicals eat you alive almost as quick as they make you feel good.Your lungs blacken and cast a shadow over the real you. You change into someone new.

Smoking gives some people confidence they wouldn’t have otherwise. The article ‘I’m a Social Smoker and Please Don’t Try to Change Me’ by Sara Dobie Bauer states that, “Smoking looks sexy, a cloud of white rolling out between parted lips. Smoking spells trouble…-and what woman doesn’t want to be in trouble.”  So, even though she knows it is bad. The author also knows that the smoke of cigarettes entices people. You look more mysterious and interesting. But, many people who do smoke do not self identify as smokers. They decide that because it is not a daily thing and because it is only for show, they do not go under that classification.

People who use cigarettes to relieve stress will be stressed later. Cigarettes can total your body leaving it only with a few good parts left. Even people who only smoke socially are left with irreversible damage. Your identity will change even if you don't self identify as a smoker. The smell will linger on your body and hair and will fill the nostrils of ones you hold close. Your lungs will struggle to grasp onto oxygen more and more. Smoking does become part of your self identity.

Self identifying can help you break away or stay inside any box that you are in. Identifying yourself based on your own opinions and self perception instead of how other people view you is a wonderful feeling. It shows that you have strength. Even then, that is still a perception of others if you are strong enough. That is what is different about self identifying, you believe that you are strong, you believe in yourself. The only thing is, some things become a part of your identity. Smoking will soon affect your life and everyone else close to you. There are things that you don't self identify with but, will affect your identity, smoking is one of them. Drinking, drugs, sports, work, etc. can affect anyone's identity even if they choose not to self identify with those things. Consequently, those things can have an even bigger impact on people around you.

Works Cited