Modern society has seen the rise of the individual. Self-expression has come to be seen as the ideal for each person. The authors of your textbook say: “Everyone, it seems, wants to be an individual, to be recognized as a unique and special person” (Cockerton and Chaparian xiii). Not to do what your parents have done or what society tells you to do is now seen as a virtue. How has this change happened? The history of the modern mindset is a fascinating attempt to figure out what makes us work (and to change it). What will you do to be a unique individual? How can you also remain true to your culture?
What makes us who we are? Sometimes our bodies seem to go on automatic pilot, indulging in the same habits day after day. Do we really make choices as we go through life or are we simply acting out a pattern that has been burned into our brain by our genes and our environmental influences?