Why does it matter?

The majority of the blogs I have read from this class deal with the idea of image and reality. We have all been giving examples of things that appear to be one thing but are really another. We are concerned with what appears real and what is real. But why do we bother with trying to discern what is real and what isn't. How am I affected by someone thinking that I'm on a date rather then just going out to eat with a friend. In some sense my reality is that some people think my friend are dating, just like Jordans reality is that people judge her as irresponsible just because she has two sons. Our image affects our realities so why does it matter what is actually real and what isn't real because the people making the judgements based on our image don't care.

Sometimes the way something appears is better then what it really is. There is no harm and letting that image persist as long as it doesn't cause harm to someone. We let children believe in Santa Clause even though he isn't real because it gives them hope and makes them happy. There is nothing wrong with that, and there is no advantage to be gained by explaining to them that Santa is real. Santa is real to them.

Image and Reality become tied together, but why is it so important that we separate them?

Ms. O'Connor

This is a picture of my date and myself from the day of my senior prom. We must have made a great couple because all my friends at the prom kept coming up to me and telling me what a great girlfriend I had and how lucky I was (I went to an all guys school, so very few people had met her before). But that's not my girlfriend, she's my best friend. She and I have been best friends since we started high school so we've gotten pretty used to people telling us what a great couple we make. My parents actually thought we were dating until my junior year. 

When ever people saw us together in public they just assumed we were dating. We did very little to create that image of our selves, I never bought her presents or kissed her and the only time  I ever put my arm around her was when we were making fun of the people try to walk with their arms around each other and end up looking uncomfortable and foolish. What we looked like and what we were were very different things. People saw us and imagined that we were a couple, and we did all the things that couple do (like kiss and celebrate anniversaries) but in reality we could not have had a less romantic relationship. We didn't let what people thought we were affect what we really were. Our image was not our reality. 

P.S. I know how stunning I look so you don't need to comment on that.