People say they know who they are or want to know who they are, as if they have somehow lost their core or have been living someone else’s life. However, do we really know who we are; can we ever find out who we are? Is there such a thing as someone knowing who they are? It’s easy for one to define themselves by their name, achievements, failures, family history, things they own and/or who they would like to be. I guess those are some points of reference people choose to find a definition of who they are. Be that as it may, are we really these points of reference?

This is the question that makes us seek permission and validation to live our lives, instead of living life as it unfolds. It boxes people in and results in their living an idea that may not even be true. Perhaps I am giving this question more power than it holds. Nevertheless, I think the question is in war with reality and that we are never the same person. In fact, even the roles we play throughout the day are never the same. Therefore, how can one define who they are if there are no constant variables in their daily lives?

Studying patterns doesn’t always give accurate results, and yes they do give a rough picture. Remember, we are talking about peoples’ lives here and not weather patterns. I don’t know why I am questioning these things. I just think that a lot of people miss out on a lot of things and make the same mistakes because of this fixed idea that we should know who we are in order to make it in life. Don’t ask me what it even means to “make it in life”, that’s a topic on its own.

It makes sense to me to let people be whoever they are, and not use that to define who that person is. That would make life tranquil, as pressure to uphold this idea of who I am as a person would go away. Perhaps, most people would be happy and maybe we wouldn’t suffer from depression and people wouldn’t kill themselves because they are not the ideal person they think they should be. It would be OK to be human and not have ambition or be successful; using society’s definition of the word of course.

In fact, society would appreciate individuality more. People would know and understand that there is no right or wrong way of living life. People would not be ashamed of their failures and they would be celebrated to be the way they are. I am not saying it’s wrong to find who you are, but just saying that, you are more likely to find your core values at the moment than who you are as a person. This is just a thought. So, who am I? The answer is I don’t know.

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Tell us: How would you answer the question: “Who are you?” in this context?