In the city of New York, there are many aspects that are considered to be from the “old New York” and the “Present New York”. The combination of the two are what make up the very culture of this city. From the  glass sky scrapers, to the man made residents from decades ago, they each hold their own story. The location that I have chosen is about fifteen minutes from City Tech, and is on the intersection of Clinton and Remsen street. At this location, I discovered an example of the juxtaposition of the two New Yorks. It was as if I was standing before the timeline of New York, viewing two different stages of time.

In order to get there, I decided to leave through the front entrance of City Tech on 300 Jay street. This was my starting position. Across the street is a construction site in progress . Up the block I saw a set of  city bikes on racks. I walked south in the direction of the bikes and turned right at the first intersection onto Johnson street. I walked passed the school’s cafe and crossed Adams street which leads to the Brooklyn Bridge. Soon, I approached the intersection of Johnson street and Court street. As I walked south on Court street, to my left I could see Columbus park. This park consisted of the Supreme court, and the borough hall train station for the 2,3,4,5, and R train. To my right was the New york sports club store. I decided to  walk down the block of this store on Remsen street. To my left was St Francis college populated with dozens of students by the front entrance. I stopped at the intersection at the end of the block on Clinton and Remsen street. I then looked back, and up the block I realized that I had found a juxtaposition that I could potentially use. Thought it was a bit difficult, I was able to catch the view all in one shot.

Being a new student in college can have its own unique affect on people. You have to get used the new schedule, adjust to the culture of the school, and probably get lost fifteen to twenty times trying to find your way to math class. Now that I’m eighteen I have to establish a sense of independence. I have to learn how to be serious about my work while at the same time having fun and meeting new people along the way. When I become more comfortable with people around me, I begin to show more enthusiasm. Some may even say I seem cheerful or joyous all the time. I gradually become more outgoing and bold in an environment that I am familiar with. After a number of years, I have found that I have an interest in the field of graphic design. When ever I see a billboard advertisement or a commercial for an upcoming video game, I begin to gaze in awe wondering how something like this can look so realistic. From this I can conclude that my design aesthetic is the concept of graphic effects. Therefore, between five to ten years from now I imagine myself in this field of work.

In order to find an avatar, I had to brainstorm and think about what I wanted my profile to represent. I didn’t want people to assume that my profile conveyed something else other than what it was meant for. However, I wanted it to be unique and humorous. In order to do this I set up a list of photos that could potentially be the new avatar. My first choice was to post a simple a “selfie” of myself to use in my profile. I soon realized that there was nothing unique about this. Nobody would be able to infer or understand the kind of person I am, simply because there is no deeper meaning. After switching through multiple avatars, I found one that I thought would represent my profile in the correct way. The avatar displays a picture of Kermit the frog sipping on a cup of tea. This has been a trending photo on social media for the past few months. It represents the well known phrase ” But that’s not my business though” and is used in order to expose issues that people either see, or face at times. It has become a symbol that was created for the purpose of comedy on Facebook, Instagram and more. This avatar represents me because it shows that I enjoy having fun, making jokes, and love express it through media. It symbolizes the joyous side of my personality.

Based on my own avatar, I can infer that there are numerous interpretations that individuals may have. One example of a misinterpretation is that I am a major fan of Walt Disney’s  “The Muppets”. Just by viewing the photo at first glance, they may assume that Kermit the Frog is one my favorite characters out of the group. Another misinterpretation is that I may have just uploaded the photo as a place holder because I could not think of anything else to fill the void. Individuals who may not normally keep up with social media may not fully grasp the meaning of the avatar or what it stands for. Therefore, they will not know how it represents me.

The concept that my profile will convey is very significant. Overall, it conveys that I have an amusing personality. I have my comedic moments that generally are shown when I am comfortable with a group of people. When I think back on the significance of my profile ,it causes me to think about the popular line, ” Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” due to the fact that people will make curtain assumptions about you based on the first thing they see on the profile. When this occurs, they will begin to categorize  you in a different way. In a worst case scenario they me even become skeptical towards you. However, once they understand the deeper meaning of what they view, they will then begin to see the profile from a whole new perspective.

As one can see, the way an individual views an avatar can open up a whole discussion on the concept of interpretations and the message being conveyed. Whatever the profile conveys is important. However, despite what people may think, if it is something that represents your personality, it should remain exactly the same.