In class collage

How does this collage represent my identity?
Going from left to right. The first image is the Dominican flag, which obviously illustrates that I'm half Dominican, this ties in with the second image of the 1966 Olympic games which is a iconic image from the civil rights era (the other half being black). The third image is a skyline of Manhattan because I'm a New Yorker who has been temporarily relocated in Charlotte (which is illustrated by the next picture). On the second line, there is an image of Jean-Paul Sartre, he is my favorite philosopher and writer of various works of existentialism (I identify as an Existentialist). The next picture is a coffee barista, this is a two-fold image, first and foremost it's there to represent that I'm a philosophy major and this will probably be what I'll end up doing because of it (ha ha) and it also shows that I'm a coffee enthusiast. To the right of this, is a picture of Bill Hicks, one of the most inspirational people to me and my favorite stand up comedian. I included him because I'm a huge fan of his work and because I love stand up comedy in general. The last image on the row is a demotivational poster entitled "Pretension" because I apparently come off as a pretentious ass. I recognize this, but it's not intentional. The next row is a surrealist image to illustrate my love for art and surrealism in general (take from that what you wish). The next image is a picture of the Democratic donkey with the Communist hammer and sickle superimposed over it. I put this up as a joke because I'm a bleeding heart liberal, and one of my favorite things to do is read anti-liberal hate mail (I guess that means I'm a masochist as well). The final row starts off with an image of a juggler because I am a juggler as well and painfully good at it. The next image is a picture of a girl covering her ears and screaming, this is to illustrate my anxiety issues, which I blame on my brain never shutting up (I picked a female because, again, I'm a bleeding-heart). To the right of this is an image of the reddit alien because I'm a redditor. With this comes most of the usual stereotypes associated with it (eg, spends too much time online, no girlfriend, liberal, argumentative, etc.). Last but not least, I posted a picture that is meant to illustrate my love for science and more specifically cognitive science. I hope to get into a cognitive science, neuroscience, or cognitive neuroscience (yes there's a difference) program for my graduate studies.

What are the links between images and identity in our society? (What types of images do I identify with?)

Pictures are worth a thousand words. This statement is cliched for a reason. You can get across so much with simply an image. Not only is there the surface level literal interpretation of the picture, but then there is the thoughts that are attempted to be conveyed, and lastly the subconscious reasons for why the person choose the images that they did. Because of the depth, it allows for a lot more information to be expressed with a lot less time and energy. Our society, even if not explicitly, recognizes this, and societies in general have recognized this since the invention of cave paintings. As such, people try to construct an identity through images, whether they're in person, online, or some other media. Take for example the stereotypes in our society. You have goths, hippies, hipsters, thugs, frat/sorority types, etc. Everyone has an "identity" that they're trying to illustrate, and images, whether concrete or a more metaphysical idea of your self, are inseparable.

I tend to find that there are two types of images that I identify with. Either they're gritty, and trying to illustrate a more "real" aspect of life, or they tend to be surrealist, sort of idealistic depictions, where the imagination or an ideal is first and foremost.