10 Biographical Essay Topics: Who Am I?

Topics and ideas
Posted on November 2, 2016

When you are discussing someone’s life story in your research paper, you are more or less writing a biography essay on that particular individual. Writing a biography essay is something you might find easy but once you have read all our guides, it would practically be child’s play for you, and you’ll be writing the perfect biography essay in no time.

In this first guide, you will read about 10 facts for a “who am I” biography essay, and a strong thesis statement for it. These facts have been collected through credible sources, some of which are listed at the end of this guide. These facts will also greatly help you write a better and more liberal biography essay.

The second guide introduces 20 topics for a “who am I” biography essay. The main purpose of this guide is to give you a head start so that you can immediately start writing your biography essay without having to jump through hoops while choosing a topic and a thesis statement. All of these topics are of relevance to 10 facts we’re discussing in this guide and at the end of our second guide, you’ll find an example of a biography essay to give you better practice at essay writing.

Finally, our third guide is all about how to write a “who am I” biographical essay about a person’s life. It is highly recommended that you read this guide thoroughly and follow the steps outlined. Following these instructions will enable you to write a biography essay flawlessly.

Without further ado, here are 10 facts for a “who am I” biographical essay that covers a person’s life:

  1. A child is not born with self-consciousness; it takes a child two years to acknowledge himself as a separate entity. When a child becomes consciously aware of himself, he shows emotions such as embarrassment or pride, which are only evident when one considers himself different or unique in some way from one’s surrounding entities.
  2. Individuals like to hide their true personality traits when they are surrounded by societies. They are afraid of others’ opinions about their genuineness and do whatever they can to blend in. However, studies have shown that their personality traits are visible even though they think otherwise.
  3. According to Ramachandran, self-awareness is obtained when a person perceives himself as others see him. We don’t become self-aware unless we see ourselves the way others see us by physical, mental, and emotional means.
    This is why when a child is introduced to a mirror for the first time, he displays a variety of emotions since he realizes who he really is and most of the time, he tries to hide himself away from the mirror since he is naturally prone to remaining anonymous.
  4. There are times when a person can lose self-awareness. These moments are known as “flow” moments. Many of the world’s greatest athletes today have actually become unaware of themselves when they are in a game, because all their focus through mind, body, and soul, is on the game and nothing else.
  5. Having a heightened self-awareness is very dangerous as it causes nervousness and insecurity. But when we are in a state of “flow”, we lose track of time and are more focused on a moment or task rather than ourselves. This mode or stance is also known as low self-awareness. It’s somewhat necessary to be in this stance as it not only allows us to be more alert but also be happy and enjoy the moment.
  6. People, who are more self-aware, tend to be uncomfortable in a crowd. They feel insecure and are paranoid about others’ perceptions of them. However, if the same individual has a thorough understanding of his/her actions and understands his/her traits to the full extent, he/she is able to foresee others’ perceptions and be in a position to counter those perceptions, if need be.
    People who tend to be aggressively conscious, feel very insecure about their personal flaws. This is why they want to keep themselves away from a crowd or project their personality in a way that others might show more empathy and care towards them. These people are very rare, yet very smart and know how to hide their true selves from others.
  7. There are different levels of self-awareness:
    • Becoming aware of your body and its processes at work.
    • Becoming aware of your mind and the processes at work in your mind.
    • Becoming aware of pure consciousness – feeling that someone else is perceiving this world just as you perceive it.
  8. These levels are normal and can be found in our everyday society. However, deep self-awareness is something that is rarely found among us, which involves becoming aware of our feelings, thoughts, behavior, and general perceptions.
  9. While some people think of themselves as superior to other species because they have a higher sense of self-awareness, science has proven otherwise. Even though we can’t see what level of self-awareness animals have since they cannot share this particular trait the way people do, on the contrary, they are fully aware of their personality and physical traits.
  10. Self-awareness cannot be categorized as intelligence. When someone or something becomes self-aware, it means it has become aware of the fact that it is a living, breathing organism – a separate entity so to speak, able to do things on its own. On the other hand, intelligence is something that’s attained through evolution and centuries of experience with regard to our surroundings.

These facts will help you grasp some knowledge on how to write a biography essay that will be a better and more liberal “who am I” biographical essay.

Check out our next guide, 20 topics for a “who am I” biographical essay where you are introduced to 20 topics and a sample biographical essay, so you can start writing without any delays whatsoever.

Remember to go through our final and third guide, and make sure how to write a biography essay, a “who am I” biographical essay. By reading this guide, you’ll learn new tips and essential methods for writing a clear and concise biographical essay on any relevant topic that you choose.

References:

Philippe Rochat, (2003) Five Levels of Self-Awareness as They Unfold Early in Life, Consciousness and Cognition 12 – 717-731 http://www.psychology.emory.edu/cognition/rochat/Rochat5levels.pdf
Mark R. Leary, June Price Tangney; (2012) Handbook of Self and Identity – Ch. 4, pp. 69-104 Self, Self-Concept and Identity https://dornsife.usc.edu/assets/sites/782/docs/handbook_of_self_and_identity_-_second_edition_-_ch._4_pp._69-104_38_pages.pdf
Naomi Ellemers, Russell Spears, Bertjan Doosje; (2002) Self and Social Identity* Annu. Rev. Psychol. 53: 161-86 http://www.psych.purdue.edu/~willia55/392F-’06/EllemersSpearsDoosje.pdf
Judith A. Howard, (2000) Social Psychology of Identities, Annu. Rev. Sociol. 26: 367-93 http://www.uvm.edu/pdodds/files/papers/others/2000/howard2000a.pdf
Kostelnik, Marjorie J.; (1993) Guiding Children’s Social Development. Second Edition. Delmar Publisher Inc. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED369567
Relly Nadler, (2011) The Illusion of Self-Awareness – We are More Unaware than Aware, Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/leading-emotional-intelligence/201108/the-illusion-self-awareness
Adrian Furnham, (2015) Self-Awareness – How self-aware are you? Do you know how you come across?, Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sideways-view/201511/self-awareness

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