crestomathy

\kreh-STAH-muh-thee\

noun

1 : a selection of passages used to help learn a language

2 : a volume of selected passages or stories of an author

A suppose a modern autobiographical CRESTOMATHY would be someone's self-created online profile, specifically the selected list of "likes." On Facebook, this includes: interests, activities, music, books, movies, and television. Through these selections one is expected to glean the roundness of another's personality.

The act of creating a profile has always presented itself as a dilemma to me. I grow anxious at the task of choosing just the right elements to speak to my "true" self (at least, what rings "true" in my own subjectivity). I fear that I will leave an incredibly relevant piece out, so obvious it is forgotten, or I will choose to add something that has only grasped my attention for the moment, eventually not making the cut of the "timeless."

But do my favorite albums and books and television programs really say anything about who I am? I suppose to an extent. These choices place me into a cultural context, which in turn has influenced my development as a person. I am roped into a zeitgeist, a generation, a subculture. While it's nice to think these lists add up to a person, there are still things missing—qualms, pet-peeves, psychoanalysis, secrets, lies one tells one's self, etc.

AND THEN THERE'S THE LACK OF OBJECTIVITY!

The list (CRESTOMATHY) goes on...