My Autoethnography
by Luis Posada
ENG 101 - Composition
After spending some time exploring different behaviors and practices that I do in my life, I have decided to choose a recent change in my life to write about. Recently, I have learned to buy ride a motorcycle and I am now currently using my recently bought motorcycle to commute to work and ride around on the weekends. Now why have I chosen this specific subject to write about you may ask? Well I believe that this idea of transportation, specifically riding a motorcycle, has a huge impact on who I am as a person and how it relates to my community, i.e. my family, friends, co-workers, etc. Deciding to ride a motorcycle is a tremendous decision an individual has to make due to many reasons, and I will be exploring these reasons to hopefully shed some light, based on my own experiences, about the stigmas about riding a motorcycle and how it can affect your community and how they may view you. So I hope I am able to not only describe about simply what I use as my transportation, but how a simple decision like that can affect everything around you, how it can define your identity and how you make a connection to your own identity through a simple behavior such as riding a motorcycle.
Firstly, I would like to explore the reason why I decided to ride a motorcycle in the first place. Motorcycles have been a fascinating mode of transportation to me since my high school days. I had always wanted to ride a motorcycle at that relatively young age, but as most people would agree, parents aren’t too keen on their child riding around in a two-wheel vehicle. Now I don’t want to say I am a rebellious person, quite then opposite, growing up I was always a quiet and shy kid. This personality lasted up until high school, when I began to break out of my shell and explore more of who I was and what interests I had. My environment had a huge influence on who I grew up to be, to this day. I would not want to say I was “restricted” in terms not having any freedom, but restricted in the sense that I could not do some activities some of my friends may have, such as hanging out in public places often, going places near and far. Therefore, I felt like I became more of a home-body, introverted into my own shell and space. I’ve grown and matured a lot of throughout my years, eventually becoming what I like to say, “my own person.” Well, what does it mean to be “your own person?” In my opinion, I believe it means being able to make certain decisions that impact your life in a significant way without feeling the need for other people’s approval. Now I’m not saying we shouldn’t take other people’s opinion on certain matters, especially family and close friends, as they typically have your best interest at hand. So this is why I have chosen the subject of finally deciding to ride a motorcycle, something my family, girlfriend, and friends, for the most part, don’t approve of. This being a recent change in my life, it is still fresh in my memory, so I can recall most people’s reactions when I told them I’d decided to learn, purchase, and ride a motorcycle on an almost daily basis. Keep in mind, I was already set on this fixation, nothing was to change my mind. I had watched hundreds of motorcycle videos on YouTube, including crashes and accidents, but they did not deter me from still wanting to ride one. I would say about 80 percent of the people I told, people I consider close to me, did not agree with my decision, as you could have expected. My parents, even to this day, were my harshest critics. They absolutely did not want me on two-wheels, the thought alone was killing my mother. But this is the beauty of being “your own person”, you do not have to succumb to anyone else’s opinions. I don’t want to say I didn’t listen to them, but their arguments were not enough to convince me otherwise. Fast forward to the day I decided to take a state approved course for riding a motorcycle, I was filled with excitement, I just couldn’t wait to get out there and ride!
Now after exploring the reasons why I decided to ride a motorcycle, and the reasons why my community did not approve of it, I would like to dive a little into what it was like, and still is to this day, to ride a motorcycle on an almost daily basis. I can’t imagine not being able to ride a motorcycle anymore, I have become enamored with it. Everyday when I wake up, I look forward to just putting on my proper gear and hopping on my motorcycle, ready to ride out into whichever environment I choose to. I’m sure anyone who reads this can relate this feeling to something they do, be it a hobby or activity. It has awaken an inner part of me that I knew was there, but was never able to manifest simply because I had never attempted to. The feeling I had when I first hopped on a motorcycle, to the day I bought my first motorcycle, to the moment I first rode it on my own, was a feeling I hadn’t felt since my younger days. I felt like a little kid on Christmas. I had finally became a person I wanted to be, not one that my community or culture wanted me to be. But what did this decision on riding a motorcycle say about the me? My identity? My culture? Well I like to think that it says that I am now a more confident person, someone who isn’t afraid to get out of their comfort zone. I believe I’ve discovered a new identity, an identity that is aggressive when is needed, and an identity that will not take no as an answer. As for my culture, I believe I may have just had a change on it, wether it be big or small, on how our people can choose to be.
In conclusion, I would like to reflect on all I have talked about in regards on my thoughts of what my identity is, and what the community around me may think about my identity. I believe the decision to ride a motorcycle is a big one that not only affects you, but the people around you, who care about you and want the best for you. I can’t blame them for feeling the way they feel, I may have also feel the same way depending on the circumstances. But it’s important to remember that although they may have an opinion, at the end of the day what matter’s is your own opinion, because ultimately that will be what you will be making decisions such as this on. I hope I was able to convey a message of positivity while writing about this subject, and I hope I myself can continue to evaluate how other things in my life help me identify who I am and how it connects me to my community.
by Luis Posada
ENG 101 - Composition
After spending some time exploring different behaviors and practices that I do in my life, I have decided to choose a recent change in my life to write about. Recently, I have learned to buy ride a motorcycle and I am now currently using my recently bought motorcycle to commute to work and ride around on the weekends. Now why have I chosen this specific subject to write about you may ask? Well I believe that this idea of transportation, specifically riding a motorcycle, has a huge impact on who I am as a person and how it relates to my community, i.e. my family, friends, co-workers, etc. Deciding to ride a motorcycle is a tremendous decision an individual has to make due to many reasons, and I will be exploring these reasons to hopefully shed some light, based on my own experiences, about the stigmas about riding a motorcycle and how it can affect your community and how they may view you. So I hope I am able to not only describe about simply what I use as my transportation, but how a simple decision like that can affect everything around you, how it can define your identity and how you make a connection to your own identity through a simple behavior such as riding a motorcycle.
Firstly, I would like to explore the reason why I decided to ride a motorcycle in the first place. Motorcycles have been a fascinating mode of transportation to me since my high school days. I had always wanted to ride a motorcycle at that relatively young age, but as most people would agree, parents aren’t too keen on their child riding around in a two-wheel vehicle. Now I don’t want to say I am a rebellious person, quite then opposite, growing up I was always a quiet and shy kid. This personality lasted up until high school, when I began to break out of my shell and explore more of who I was and what interests I had. My environment had a huge influence on who I grew up to be, to this day. I would not want to say I was “restricted” in terms not having any freedom, but restricted in the sense that I could not do some activities some of my friends may have, such as hanging out in public places often, going places near and far. Therefore, I felt like I became more of a home-body, introverted into my own shell and space. I’ve grown and matured a lot of throughout my years, eventually becoming what I like to say, “my own person.” Well, what does it mean to be “your own person?” In my opinion, I believe it means being able to make certain decisions that impact your life in a significant way without feeling the need for other people’s approval. Now I’m not saying we shouldn’t take other people’s opinion on certain matters, especially family and close friends, as they typically have your best interest at hand. So this is why I have chosen the subject of finally deciding to ride a motorcycle, something my family, girlfriend, and friends, for the most part, don’t approve of. This being a recent change in my life, it is still fresh in my memory, so I can recall most people’s reactions when I told them I’d decided to learn, purchase, and ride a motorcycle on an almost daily basis. Keep in mind, I was already set on this fixation, nothing was to change my mind. I had watched hundreds of motorcycle videos on YouTube, including crashes and accidents, but they did not deter me from still wanting to ride one. I would say about 80 percent of the people I told, people I consider close to me, did not agree with my decision, as you could have expected. My parents, even to this day, were my harshest critics. They absolutely did not want me on two-wheels, the thought alone was killing my mother. But this is the beauty of being “your own person”, you do not have to succumb to anyone else’s opinions. I don’t want to say I didn’t listen to them, but their arguments were not enough to convince me otherwise. Fast forward to the day I decided to take a state approved course for riding a motorcycle, I was filled with excitement, I just couldn’t wait to get out there and ride!
Now after exploring the reasons why I decided to ride a motorcycle, and the reasons why my community did not approve of it, I would like to dive a little into what it was like, and still is to this day, to ride a motorcycle on an almost daily basis. I can’t imagine not being able to ride a motorcycle anymore, I have become enamored with it. Everyday when I wake up, I look forward to just putting on my proper gear and hopping on my motorcycle, ready to ride out into whichever environment I choose to. I’m sure anyone who reads this can relate this feeling to something they do, be it a hobby or activity. It has awaken an inner part of me that I knew was there, but was never able to manifest simply because I had never attempted to. The feeling I had when I first hopped on a motorcycle, to the day I bought my first motorcycle, to the moment I first rode it on my own, was a feeling I hadn’t felt since my younger days. I felt like a little kid on Christmas. I had finally became a person I wanted to be, not one that my community or culture wanted me to be. But what did this decision on riding a motorcycle say about the me? My identity? My culture? Well I like to think that it says that I am now a more confident person, someone who isn’t afraid to get out of their comfort zone. I believe I’ve discovered a new identity, an identity that is aggressive when is needed, and an identity that will not take no as an answer. As for my culture, I believe I may have just had a change on it, wether it be big or small, on how our people can choose to be.
In conclusion, I would like to reflect on all I have talked about in regards on my thoughts of what my identity is, and what the community around me may think about my identity. I believe the decision to ride a motorcycle is a big one that not only affects you, but the people around you, who care about you and want the best for you. I can’t blame them for feeling the way they feel, I may have also feel the same way depending on the circumstances. But it’s important to remember that although they may have an opinion, at the end of the day what matter’s is your own opinion, because ultimately that will be what you will be making decisions such as this on. I hope I was able to convey a message of positivity while writing about this subject, and I hope I myself can continue to evaluate how other things in my life help me identify who I am and how it connects me to my community.