Who am I?

I arrived in Barcelona, nervous of what was yet to come, relieved that I had at last returned and weathered from all the preparation. What I had not been mentally prepared for was the actual weather. Though Barcelona's winter is quite laughable compared to the bitter cold of other places, for an island girl, it's quite the change. So task number one quickly became finding the appropriate clothing. However, who knew it would become such the soul searching task?


I soon realized that I had no idea what to buy. Granted, I knew a coat, scarf, shoes were some of the basics. What I didn't know was what style to buy. Here was a chance to try on a new look; reinvent myself. Could be fun, right? Or could be quite tormenting. I was not used to seeing myself in a trench coat. Or boots for that matter. Nothing seemed to look right. And then I wanted to blend in with the casually chic Barcelonians. But did that really fit my personality? Shouldn't there be a little of "me" in this whole process? But what was that? What is that? Will I ever know?


Ironically (or not) as I scoured the stores and pondered matters, we were given a homework assignment in our photography workshop to show an example of Self Presentation. Self Presentation is not about a self portrait. It has more to do with including yourself, the photographer, in the photograph as a critical component of the message. Being that I was floundering with "my" style and wanting to blend in, I opted to explore my self identity through the lens of the camera.

So, who am I? Well, an easy answer is I am a mix. Culturally, ethnically, personality, interests, whatever it is, I am a mix. My project was then a series of photos showing how I can push different parts of my look to fit a certain role. I subtly changed my hairstyle, make-up and clothing to convey a semblance to various regions.