Unit 3 Reflection

 Reflection 

  For my Unit 3 Project, I chose to transform my Unit 2 project into a song for a few reasons. My Unit 2 topic was already deeply personal and centered on my own artistic expression, so it only felt appropriate to extend that work into a medium that is inherently emotional and expressive. In my essay, I argued that social media “shapes and distorts teenagers' identities by pushing us to present highly curated versions of ourselves.” Because that argument is rooted in lived experience, I felt that a song could capture the emotional reality of that pressure more effectively than a traditional essay or slide presentation. Music allows for nuanced tone, vulnerability that mirrors the internal spiraling I described in my writing.

  I also considered my audience carefully when choosing this medium. My intended audience is primarily teenagers, college students, and especially young performers who use social media frequently. In my Unit 2 essay, I discussed how “actors described an additional level of pressure because of their chosen career,” especially since social media has become a form of self-marketing. That pressure is something I experience personally, which made writing the lyrics to the song feel even more important. Because this audience is already deeply connected to music and emotional storytelling, I chose a pop song in a style similar to today’s mainstream artists. Current pop music explores identity, insecurity, and self-perception, which aligns closely with my argument. Additionally, the structure of a song, with repeated choruses and hooks, mirrors the repetitive, performative nature of social media itself, reinforcing my message not just through lyrics but through form.

  As I developed the lyrics, I intentionally drew on moments and ideas from my Unit 2 essay. For example, when I wrote, “I got Instagram when I was twelve / Learned how to be somebody else,” I was directly reflecting on the early exposure to social media that I discussed in my essay, and how quickly that led to self-comparison. Similarly, lines like “Living through a filtered lens” and “Every angle, every pose / Cut out what they shouldn’t know” connect to my claim that people present “highly curated versions of themselves.” I also drew on a moment I described in my essay, in which I said I would watch performance videos and “didn’t realize at the time how much editing or production might have gone into those videos.” That realization shows up in the lyric “Scrolling through their perfect lives / Hitting notes I just can’t get right,” which captures both comparison and the unrealistic standards created by edited content.

The chorus became the emotional center of the piece:
“I always feel so dumb / Like I'm proving I'm someone that I'm not
Why do I care so much?
It’s like I need a nudge
Of reality hitting my face
Feels like I can always be replaced.”

 Here, I wanted to directly express the internal conflict I described in my essay, particularly the idea that “when likes, views, and comments start to define how someone feels about themselves, it becomes harder to separate who you actually are from how you’re perceived online.” The repetition of these lines reflects the cyclical nature of those thoughts, they don’t just happen once, they loop constantly, much like scrolling.

  In addition to writing the song, I also challenged myself with the process of recording and creating a video component. This part of the project pushed me outside my comfort zone in a different way. While writing the lyrics felt honest and personal, filming and presenting the song introduced a new layer of vulnerability. I became very aware of the same pressures I was critiquing. How I look on camera, how I sound, how it might be perceived. In a way, making the video became a real-time example of my argument. I found myself questioning whether I was presenting an authentic version of myself or another “curated” one, which directly connects back to my claim about identity distortion.

  I also found myself struggling with the idea of making this my “final” version, Because the project is so personal, it feels difficult to say it is complete. That fear reflects something I discussed in Unit 2 about perfectionism and external validation. Wanting something to be good enough not just academically, but socially and artistically. The line “While I’m stuck in a feedback loop of doubt” ended up describing not just the song’s message, but also my process while creating it. I kept revisiting lyrics, melodies, and even video takes, worrying that they didn’t fully capture what I wanted to say or it wasn’t good enough due to a deadline and being busy.

 One piece of peer feedback that influenced my work was: “I really enjoyed how you looked at both the positive and negative sides of social media as well as its relation to identity in modern times. It definitely strengthens your argument, nice work!” This pushed me to lean more into my personal voice for Unit 3. In my essay, I included personal experiences, like getting Instagram in 6th grade and feeling pressure to be “perfect,” but in the song I allowed myself to be even more direct and vulnerable. Lines like “I’m always on, even when I’m alone” build on my earlier claim that teens often form their identity through “external validation rather than internal understanding.”

 To share my Unit 3 Project, I framed it as if I were releasing a song to my online writing class, similar to how artists promote their work on platforms like Instagram or TikTok. My “pitch” presented the song as both a personal narrative and a broader commentary on social media culture. I included an introduction explaining that the lyrics were inspired by both my research and my own experiences comparing myself to others online. While the interaction with my audience is mostly one-way, I imagined how listeners might respond. Ideally, I would want them to reflect on their own online behavior and recognize how often they compare themselves to others or feel pressure to present a certain version of themselves.

 Overall, transforming my essay into a song allowed me to maintain the same core argument while completely changing how the audience experiences it. Instead of just explaining that social media distorts identity, the song invites the audience to feel that distortion. The addition of the video component and the vulnerability involved in performing the piece made the project even more layered. It not only communicates my argument but also embodies it. This shift made my message more personal, more relatable, and ultimately more impactful.