Who are you Really?

     I am not going to lie.  This is a long read, but I think it is worth the time to explore a bit into who you are (I would not have written it otherwise).  This is taken from an exercise we did in one of my classes a few years ago, and I really learned a lot about myself from it.  It is interesting to do on your own, or with family or friends.

     Answer this question for me: Who are you? 

     Now I want you to think about a few things for a moment.  How did you answer that question?  Chances are you said something along the lines of “I’m Johnny Depp.”  Of course you would have filled that in with your own name.  However, if you ARE Johnny Depp, please message me IMMEDIATELY so we can have a more intimate conversation.  If not, just keep reading.

     How do you define yourself?  Is it by your name?  Ethnicity?  Religion?  Occupation?  Family?  Friends?  Health?  Accomplishments?  Aspirations?  Hobbies? Who you know?

     A completely fictitious example you’ll never know if it was based on real people or not, would be as follows:

     I’m Katrina Smith, a British thirty-five year old pediatric doctor living in Australia.  I’m from a wealthy family, I know the Duke of York, and I have chronic asthma.  I have three articles published in prominent doctorial magazines around the world, and I love to travel.  I hope one day to cure childhood diabetes.

     But who IS she?  Are we defined by these words?  These labels?  Or is there something deeper than that?  What makes us us?  We are all individuals, but there could be dozens of Katrina Smiths on the planet.  Some of them may be pediatric doctors, others could have English blood, and I’m sure a few of them have come from wealthy families or are living with asthma.  

     What makes us us?  More than that, how do we define it?

     When you get a moment, gather 5-10 small pieces of paper.  On each one, write one thing to describe yourself.  It could be your age, name, characteristics, or roles you play.  Examples are “sister,” “father,” “survivor,” “actor,” etc.  Once you have done that, read them over.

     Now I want you to get rid of one.  The thing you least identify yourself as, or the thing you are most willing to abandon.

     Now another.  You should be weaning out some of the extraneous definitions, but this could still be difficult.

     However many you had to begin with, get down to two.  What are they?  What do you think that says about you?

     Now choose the label that you would never give up (or the one you’re more willing to give up).  What are you left with?  Who are you?

     This obviously does not describe the entirety of who you are.  You may have had trouble limiting who you are down to ten things.  But this gives you insight into something that may be the most near and dear to your being.  

     Some people may have thrown their name out immediately, as they have no fondness for their given one.  Others may have kept it as their number one choice.  Some may have not even thought to write down their religious affiliation if they have one, because it is just not an important aspect of their lives.  Others may have kept that until the end, because they would be more willing to give up their possessions and even their life, than they would be to abandon their beliefs.

     What you chose to write down and which you easily discarded or struggled to hold on to, say a great deal about who we are.  Even if some of these characteristics change over time.  We are, after all, ever growing and changing ourselves.