Are you invisible?

[Muirheid]

What does it mean to be invisible? Have you ever felt invisible? Have
you ever wanted to be invisible? Who are the invisible people at
Marist? Who else would you label "invisible"?

[Shannon]

Obviously, invisible is when no one else can see you. I guess that can
be a physical thing, but I haven't met anyone who has successfully
made himself invisible. So I think for a person to be invisible, he or
she simply fades into the crowd everywhere he or she goes. No one
notices the person, and no one is on the lookout for that person
either. I admit that sometimes if I find myself in an embarrassing or
awkward situation, I wish that I was invisible so that I could leave
the situation altogether without anyone noticing. But I don't really
go to bed at night thinking that if I was invisible, my life would be
so much better. I know some people really want to be invisible, and
pride themselves in being like a chameleon; wherever they go, they
dress and act so nondescriptly that no on else acknowledges their
existence. But there are other people whom society overlooks, and
these "invisible" people don't really crave to live life unseen and
unnoticed by others; but they do go unnoticed. At Marist, I would
definitely say that the underclassmen seem to be invisible, especially
to us seniors. They seem like just inanimate obstacles that we have to
shove in order to make our way through the hallways. I think there are
also some people in the grade that, sadly, I just have never talked to
or heard anything about them. I have no opinion towards that person,
and so I don't really notice him/her when they walk past me. I can
just imagine how many of my own classmates will seem invisible to me
in college, when I am immersed in a sea of 30,000 undergrads.

[Tori Lewis]

The question of “what does it mean to be invisible” is a lot like the
question we were asked not too long ago relating to Portrait, “what is
an artist?” It can be interpreted many different ways. Being
invisible seems to be far more than just the idea of not being seen,
especially in Invisible Man. The idea of being invisible is somewhere
along the lines of being seen, but not noticed. It’s easy to go
unnoticed in a college with more than 20, 000 students. College and
busy streets are places where any one person could go unnoticed. It’s
easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of a busy street or a
college campus. It seems like second nature sometimes to say that we
would want to be invisible in a situation like being in front of a
large crowd or after an extremely embarrassing situation. The people
at Marist seem to be the seventh and eighth graders. They go
seemingly unnoticed in a large crowd of people. It’s hard to identify
most of them by name, in fact. They are small kids that seem to just
get in the way, as unfortunate as that sounds. I’m sure I’ll go
unnoticed next year, just as they are unnoticed now.

[Alex]

I think that invisibility is something that a person feels and not
necessarily something that other people put upon that person. You
can't physically go invisible, but it's a mindset that discourages a
person to make themselves invisible. To be invisible means to just go
through the motions and not have meaning for life. I have at times
felt invisible, because I have felt small and irrelevant. When I
fail, I feel invisible mostly because I know I could have done better
and I think that people are disappointed in me. I also feel invisible
when I am in a big group of people I don't know. I am somewhat shy
when I meet new people, so I can come off quiet and reserved. So,
when other people who are very outgoing take the lead, I can get
lost. At times, I have felt like I have wanted to be invisible
because that would make life easier. Especially in class, it would be
easy to be invisible and slip into sleep. At Marist, I think that
most if not all of the students have found their niche, but probably
some continue to feel invisible. I think the best thing to do is have
self esteem and confidence and that will help to stay visible.

On Jan 24, 9:27 pm, Muirheid <muirhe...@marist.com> wrote:

[Alyssa Boehnlein]

Physically, invisibilty is something that can not be seen. But, unless
you live in the world of Harry Potter and you own an Invisibility
Cloak, I don't think you're going to just turn physically invisible
out of the blue. However, a person can be invisible as they sink into
the crowd or into their surroundings. Some people have the ability to
just hide in the background throughout their life, whether they like
it or not. I definitely have felt invisible before - there are always
going to be those moments where you don't know anyone around you, and
you tend to just sink back into the crowd until you get back into your
comfort zone. However, I have learned that usually you'll have a
better experience if you put yourself out there for other people and
let your true self be seen. Yes, the middle schoolers at Marist are
predominantly "invisible" to the Seniors - we pass by them in the
hallways, and personally, I don't see many of them because I look
straight ahead and they are below my eye-level - but sadly there are
people in my own grade that I've barely said a word to. I don't doubt
that I'm invisible to many of the people at Marist myself! However, I
believe any willing "invisible" person has the ability to be seen.

On Jan 24, 9:27 pm, Muirheid <muirhe...@marist.com> wrote:

[Jenna Sharp]

Although that would be kind of awesome, physical invisibility is
nonexistent. Metaphorically speaking however, I think an "invisible
person" is a person who fades into the background and people forget
about. I have difficulty labeling a person as such, because each
person is invisible to someone, and each person matters to someone out
there. I think that honestly all of us get so caught up in ourselves
that we occasionally have trouble recognizing others that are not
included in our immediate routine. I feel invisible all the time. To
certain people, I am only a means of resource. In other words, if I
cannot do something for them then I am virtually invisible. I
honestly believe that is the source of invisibility, that innate
survival of the fittest/ selfishness principle that exists in all of
us. It's something we are all guilty of, but it is sadly human
nature. The invisible people at Marist are those who are introverted
and choose not to get involved. In no way am I saying that those
people are not just as important as the Valedictorian or the star
athlete, but the fact of the matter is that Marist is a place for
outstanding excellence, and those who do not publicly excel tend to be
forgotten.

> > Marist? Who else would you label "invisible"?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Ed]

Alyssa, I too thought of an invisibility cloak when thinking about
this blog post. I guess to be invisible one has to feel detached from
the world. That doesn't mean that one is incapable of connecting with
society, but he chooses not to. So, being invisible is not
neccessarily a negative thing; it depends on what that person wants to
do. I feel invisible whenever I hear statistics concerning me and my
miniscule presence in today's worldwide society. I want to feel
invisible whenever I just want to stay at home by myself and watch
TV. Sometimes it is good to take a step back and just relax on your
own, which I take as a form of becoming invisible. People I would
label as invisible are those who work behind the scenes on Hollywood
movie sets or any artistic play.

On Jan 24, 9:27 pm, Muirheid <muirhe...@marist.com> wrote:

[Nicole]

At first, I didn't know what to think of being invisible. Then, I
thought about it some more, and I realized that being invisible means
that you don't feel loved in the world; you feel like no one notices
you, and no one cares about you. I know that I've certainly felt this
way in my life, and I think everyone has felt invisible at least once
in his life. For me, I tend to feel invisible when everything seems to
be going the wrong way. When I'm having a bad day, I feel like no one
ever notices me or cares about me; I feel like I'm alone in the world
with no support or help. When I'm invisible, I feel left out and
hopeless. I also tend to be in a bad mood when I feel invisible
because I have the attitude "if no one cares about me, why should I
care about him?" And yes, there are some days when I wish I was
invisible. I wish no one would notice me so that I could do whatever I
want without people judging me; however, I do not get this feeling
often. On a different note, I always thought it'd be cool to be
actually invisible because then I could get a peek inside other
people's lives without disrupting them, or I could see how people act
when I'm not around. In my opinion, the invisible people at Marist are
the people who don't say anything, but they also don't try. They're
the people that remain hidden in the crowd, but they're also the
people that cut themselves off from groups by not participating. They
go about their own routine silently and do not search out
opportunities in school or friends, but they would rather remain
quiet, hidden, and unnoticed.

On Jan 24, 9:27 pm, Muirheid <muirhe...@marist.com> wrote:

[Daniel Gutowski]

I believed that to be invisible is more than simply not being seen by
others, but to also be unnoticed with no sense of presence at all.
It’s like one who is invisible is empty or void of something, making
that person invisible. I have felt invisible many times before. Often
around my parents when I was younger I felt that I was invisible
because I felt everything I said went unnoticed and almost looked down
upon. Also, on first entry to Marist, I felt invisible amongst all the
many students moving around. The invisible people at Marist are often
those who would rather be alone, but they’re also those who are
ignored. Often kids who do not seem as "cool" are often ignored when
saying something, making them feel invisible to those they may want to
care about them. Randomly, I would label many fathers as invisible. I
feel that many dads simply go to work and come home, hardly saying
much, just making a living. I feel like fathers would like to break
lose but the stress of providing makes them walk along with their
heads down under that burden.

On Jan 24, 9:27 pm, Muirheid <muirhe...@marist.com> wrote:

[Katie]

I think being invisible could mean a couple of things. Someone could
be invisible based on their emotions or state of mind; as a few people
have mentioned, if someone is shy and quiet around people they do not
really know, they may want to make themselves "invisible". I think
many people have experienced this type of invisibility at least once.
Someone could also be invisible to others, like the narrator in
Invisible Man. Unfortunately, sometimes people may overlook someone or
may not pay attention to a person that is around them, making that
person invisible to them. There have been a few ocassions where I have
definitely felt invisible- in both ways I mentioned. I would agree
with the people that have said the seventh and eighth graders at
Marist are invisible. It sounds terrible but I honestly do not notice
them throughout the day...except for the ones that are taller than me
(sad).

[Maria Kurilo]

The perception of invisibility varies among society in definition. To
be invisible, means to be overlooked or ignored. I have in fact felt
invisible. Attending an art festival in midtown with my mother truly
exposed me to the feeling of invisibility. Being the art fanatic my
mother is, she brought along her friends also fascinated by the
subject. I walked around obscure galleries dispersed throughout the
little streets of downtown. Attempting to share my thoughts about the
phenomenal pieces before me, I was instantly shut down by the thirty-
something year olds walking beside me. Only concerned with each other,
my mother and her group of friends delved into conversation, ignoring
my presence. I felt invisible. I walked behind them in silence,
swallowing my words. There are individuals who are invisible at
Marist. As sad as it is, I would say the cleaning people are invisible
at Marist. People on campus do not go out of their way to talk to
them, and they just do their job without any recognition. I would
label an “invisible” person as someone who is in the background and
blends into their environment. However, I believe invisibility is
something intentional as well. Individuals may have the personality of
someone without the concern of acquiring attention. Invisibility can
be recognized differently in particular circumstances.

[erwo...@marist.com]

An invisible person is one that fades into the background rather than
stand out. People can be invisible in a variety of ways. Sometimes,
you can feel invisible in a classroom if you sit in the back and do
not participate. When I go take the ACT or SAT at another school, the
students from that school all talk amongst themselves while I have no
friend to turn to. Among these strangers, I then feel left out and
invisible. However, in the eyes of the students there, I probably
stood out because I was an outsider or different. This example
demonstrates that invisibility is in the eyes of the beholder.
Invisibility is more of a feeling than a concrete state. In a large
crowd, individuals are invisible because people only see the entity as
a whole rather than its individual parts. In packed football stadiums,
I feel invisible among the other fans adorning the same colors.
However, this invisibility does not give off a feeling of being alone
but rather one of fitting in, and thus I enjoy this invisibility.
Again, this demonstrates the fluidity of the definition of
invisibility. According to Ellison, being invisible means people judge
you based on generalizations of your basic appearance and background.
Within the timeline of the novel, negroes are invisible because the
white population does not see separate individuals with different
skills and characteristic personalities but rather “the generic
negro.” In this context, one would not want to feel invisible but
rather want to break this barrier. I feel all teenagers are
experiencing this battle. They try to find their own voice, so that
they may identify themselves separately from their influences, such as
their parents. As other people have mentioned, seventh graders or
ninth graders, the bottom rungs may seem invisible in our eyes, yet
next year in college we will be the invisible men. It is not until you
demonstrate or expose your uniqueness and individuality that you again
become visible.

[Cristina Rocca]

Being invisible means to not be seen, heard, or even acknowledged.
Legitimate physical invisibility is not actually a real occurrence
(except for Harry Potter), but a person can certainly be invisible to
the eyes of their peers and other people. I sometimes feel invisible,
but not often. My invisibility often simply stems from my own
occasional desire to keep my thoughts to my self and not engage in
conversation. Actually, just today in Model Arab League, I felt
invisible as the somewhat cutthroat delegates worked around me, while
not actually including me (but then again, I'm not one who ever feels
compelled to have an aggressive debate). I never want to be purposely
invisible. Because what's the point of one's existence if one is
invisible? I know this may sound harsh, but you might as well be dead
or not exist at all if you truly want to be invisible. There are
definitely some invisible people at Marist. This may be a little too
blunt, but there are definitely some of my peers who I never give a
second glance to, like they are just part of the surroundings in my
classrooms.

On Jan 24, 9:27 pm, Muirheid <muirhe...@marist.com> wrote:

[MaryClaire]

As many people have already stated, invisibility in the literal sense
of the word is not the discussion here. To be invisible, in this case,
is to feel that people do not realize your presence in a situation.
Feeling invisible can be awkward and uncomfortable for many, because
the usual human tendency is to want to feel loved, respected, and
valued. There have definitely been times when I have felt invisible,
that a group would not even notice if I was not there. However, there
are also situations in which people would prefer to be invisible. When
my parents are angry with me, I often wish I could just disappear and
not have to listen to them yell at me. I think that there are people
who would consider themselves to be invisible at Marist, but clearly
by our blog posts we all do notice them, and they are not entirely
invisible. Situations also exist in which people think they are
invisible, but in reality they are vital and others have just not
expressed this to them.

On Jan 24, 9:27 pm, Muirheid <muirhe...@marist.com> wrote:

[Michael Bryant]

Although it is physically impossible to truly be invisible, one could
feel or appear to be invisible. Being invisible means that one is not
noticed by others. This sense of invisibility could be brought on by a
person’s belief that they are unimportant or have no purpose in life.
A person could also be invisible if that person feels inferior to
others. I have felt invisible when I went to the airport by myself for
the first time. I felt invisible because there were thousands of
people walking around in a hasty manner not noticing me. This, at
first, was a scary feeling to me, but after awhile it was not that
bad. I have wanted to be invisible at times when I do not want to do
things. For example during a hard swim practice I wish I could be
invisible so my coach would not see me stop at the other end of the
pool. Although I do not do this often, I sometimes wish I had this
ability. The invisible people at Marist are definitely the seventh and
eighth graders. Where are they? I never see them. I would also label
the poor as invisible. We see the poor often, but we do not make that
great of an effort to help them. Sometimes people pass by a poor
person and not even notice, or pretend not to notice.

On Jan 24, 9:27 pm, Muirheid <muirhe...@marist.com> wrote:

[Brendan Hickey]

I believe that to be invisible one has to be unseen by at least the
majority if not all of the people. I did feel a bit invisible at my
old school, a situation that has happily changed. Being invisible is
definitely nowhere near as much fun as it might sound, and due to this
I certainly can't say that I've ever really wanted to be invisible. I
am a theatre kid, after all: visible is kind of my thing. The
invisible people at Marist are often the Middle Schoolers simply due
to the fact that in terms of maturity, prestige, and age they are very
different from the remainder of the school. They're also very tiny, so
I find it difficult to see them in general due to their overall short
statures. I don't feel that the separation between Middle School and
High School is necessarily a bad thing, due to the fact that at least
I would grow tired of interacting with so many people beneath my
maturity level.

On Jan 24, 9:27 pm, Muirheid <muirhe...@marist.com> wrote:

[Daniel]

I think that to be invisible means to go without being seen, heard, or
otherwise noticed by anyone around you. Most people have experienced
being invisible at one point in time or another: we can’t expect to
always be the center of attention. This is normal, and honestly, I
doubt anyone would want to be the center of attention all the time.
However, “invisibility” in the sense that someone goes unnoticed all
of the time could easily be depressing or unhealthy for the
individual. Oddly enough, this reminds me of something Mr. Fecas
brought up in Choices about mirroring and fulfilling the narcissistic
needs of children. In short, if a child is “invisible” to his or her
parents, that child will grow up to ignore the needs of his or her own
children, and so on. It’s not quite the same, but the basic idea that
it can be painful to be invisible, especially to those who are close
to you, remains the same.

On Jan 24, 9:27 pm, Muirheid <muirhe...@marist.com> wrote:

[Scott Selvey]

Something is invisible if it can't be seen by anyone else, or simply
goes unnoticed to most people. I can't think off the top of my head a
time where I felt invisible, but I'm sure that it's happened. I think
that everybody at some time or another has wished they were
invisible. It would just be so cool to bea able to sneak around
without being seen like Harry Potter in his invisibility cloak. The
invisible people at marist are the seventh and eighth graders. It's
like they don't even go to Marist. We don't have a full middle school
and they're not in high school, so they just sort of take up space and
clog up the hallways. I would lable people who deliver newspapers as
invisible. They work long before I'm awake so it's like the newspaper
magically appears at the end of my driveway every morning.

On Jan 24, 9:27 pm, Muirheid <muirhe...@marist.com> wrote:

[Chase]

Being invisible as a person is to exist without anyone else truly
knowing or caring about what happens to you. Luckily, Marist tends to
be a close enough knit community to avoid this happening too often,
but there are two ways in which I have seen people become invisible.
The easiest way is to make oneself invisible by avoiding all potential
connections one can make with others in his or her community. One of
my good friends now was like this when she was younger; she simply
wanted to get by without having to deal with others, and honestly, she
was largely successful. When someone does this, it tends to not last
very long because people eventually search out companionship. It is in
the basic human condition to desire human contact, and invisibility of
that sort won't last forever.

There is a second type of invisibility that can last longer and is far
more painful: one that is forced upon a person due either to the
status quo to the lack of satisfaction of that person with the status
quo. Racism, such as the discrimination against black people in
Invisible Man, is the perfect example of a status quo invisibility: he
is seen as less because of the circumstances in which he lives, and
nothing he can do will change that unless the status quo changes.
While this type of invisibility has been reduced due to the civil
rights movements among other things (the political correctness
movement is the most interesting to me. The lack of racism on the
media means there is less exposure from the mainstream, which is good.
But the media also avoids the topic in general, cringing at the
thought of dealing with tough topics like racism because it will cause
controversy and can hurt ratings, meaning those that are exposed have
few positive influences in the media to counteract that, which is bad.
Like I said, interesting), but it is by no means eliminated (cue every
citizen of the Arab-American population sadly shaking their head).

The lack of satisfaction one I mentioned early is the most difficult
to pin down, but I'll try anyway. Imagine what would happen if I, a
theatre kid, decided to hang out exclusively with a sports team (I'll
use swimmers purely as an example; please do not take this as anything
more than that) without actually joining that sports team. Chances
are, my lack of involvement, at least during the season, would leave
me as an outcast, and any interest in my activity would be
significantly lower because they aren't a part of it. I become a
minority due to my own decision, and, at least for a bit, I am
probably very invisible in that group, not to mention invisible to any
past friend I may have alienated by my decision to no longer hang out
with theatre kids. Even if I joined swimming, it would be a while
before I was a fully fledged member. That isn't anyone's fault: I
chose to change the status quo. Regardless, until the balance is
achieved once again and a new, for better or worse, status quo is
made, I would be invisible. There are far more examples than just
socially in high school, but you hopefully get the gist.

Have I ever wanted to be invisible? I wasn't very good at it due to my
loud voice, but I did try once. When you don't fit in with anybody, it
can seem easier to simply disappear than to keep putting oneself out
there simply due to the overwhelming fear of rejection. From my own
experience, being invisible never works, and life is much easier when,
finally, all those risks we take by revealing who we truly are to the
world on a daily basis are worth it when we find someone who makes us
feel visible in a new way.

On Jan 24, 9:27 pm, Muirheid <muirhe...@marist.com> wrote:

[Jacob Ahearn]

I just came back from Portland late last night. Before I get into how
eager I am to spend my college years in the city, I'll focus in on
this particular assignment. Portland, for some reason, had a very
noticeable homeless population. It was to the point where I noticed a
handful of them from one sweep of the eye. They wandered through
indifferent crowds asking for change, played folk music no one payed
attention to, and merely lay on the pavement so people can step over
them. My first instinct is to call the Portland homeless invisible.
People, for the most part, did ignore them. But the homeless, like the
city itself, projected a haze of melancholy beauty that I haven't
found anywhere else. Everything about Portland seems to have a
dreariness that is somehow also beautiful. I saw a young homeless
couple passionately kissing each other while sharing a dirty blanket
to keep them warm. They weren't invisible. I don't think anyone can
be. It's the people who seem invisible that influence us the most.

On Jan 24, 9:27 pm, Muirheid <muirhe...@marist.com> wrote:

[Greg Ehmer]

Well my first gut definition to being invisible is being not visible
haha, but of course it means a lot more than that in the book. In the
book, Ellison is trying to convey invisible as there but not there if
you know what I mean, just something that is there, but nobody bothers
to notice it and give it any attention. I think the best example
would be those scenes in New York where the main character is walking
in the crowded sidewalk, and you just notice him not the other dozens
of other businessmen walking around him. I tend to feel invisible a
lot in my life. While I don't feel as invisible as the invisible man
does in the story, there are a few moments where I feel invisible
mostly in large crowds of people I don't know. When I am in those
situations, I obviously feel unknown and just another person in the
crowd. I also feel invisible at school when I feel like I'm in an
endless cycle of school like a machine going from class to class. I
don't consider anyone I know or at least recognize at Marist
invisible, but when I go through the younger hallways it's like I
don't recognize anyone in there save a few kids. It seemed like I
knew who everyone was in the other grades in 7th grade but now I only
really know the juniors and sophmores. The only other people who are
invisible in this world I think are just people whose life is a
constant routine where they go to work and go home like the machine I
was previously talking about. These people do nothing to get noticed
just their jobs which I feel like is a lot of people.

On Jan 24, 9:27 pm, Muirheid <muirhe...@marist.com> wrote: