By Chitegetse A. Minanago
Who are you, really? Halt, pause for some minutes to think with me. Let us walk into some mind juggling questions that seeks to unleash an answer to the true nature of self. Which make me wonder to begin with, is it the quest to self-discovery or, one’s identity? Stay with me till the end. The question “Who are you?” may seem very simple and a very common question we get asked on daily basis. Have you ever asked this question to yourself before? Who are you? Are you the sum of your thoughts, your dreams, or the choices you have made along your life’s journey? Do you define yourself by your name, your title, the roles you play (a child, parent, friend, lover, enemy of someone, or are you something more? Are you something deeper that neither you nor most people could fathom? Are you the voice inside your head, the visions or imaginations you mould about whom your wishes and expectations of who you should be, the silent whisper that speaks in moments of a loud stillness? Or are you the actions you take, the steps you tread, leaving marks on a world that may or may not notice?
When you strip away all the labels like your name, roles, the accolades, and the failures, what then remains? Would you still be “You”? Confused yet? Stay with me. Is it your memories, stitched together by the fabric of time, that shape the essence of who you are? Is it the discombobulation of emotions; the joy, anger, fear, melancholy, uncertainty, and hopelessness that overwhelms you? These fleeting, defining moments are powerful but never linger long enough to be fully captured. Are you the scars you tag along with, be it visible or invisible, narrating the past that you strive so hard to keep in hidden places? Or are you the dreams that dance just out of reach, guiding you forward even when you are not quite sure where you are headed?
What do you see when you look at yourself in the mirror? Is it a reflection of the person you believe yourself to be, a gendered or gender less face maybe, or is it just a façade, a person that the society and the world would want you to be? Are you the stories you tell, the ones you keep close, or are you the secrets you hide, buried deep, known only to you? Do you find yourself in the laughter shared with friends, in the silence of solitude, or in the restless nights when you fall asleep?
Who are you beneath the surface? Are you defined by the connections you make, the number of people who know you or think they do? Are you the sum of your successes and your failures, constantly measuring, comparing, seeking validation? Or are you something entirely separate, something undefined, a constant work in progress, always becoming but never quite arriving, always working to improve yourself in every possible way?
Are you searching for answers, or are you comfortable in the mystery, the not knowing? Do you ever wonder if you are living as the person you were meant to be, or simply playing a role that life has handed you? Who are you when no one is watching, when there is no audience, no expectations, no script? Are you still discovering, still questioning, still evolving? So, who are you? The question lingers, elusive and complex, a puzzle without a single, definitive answer. Perhaps, in the end, you are not one thing, but many a collection of moments, memories, and mysteries, constantly shifting, endlessly fascinating, always unfolding.
What if I were to consider these possibilities: “I am that, I am” as the Holy Scriptures say. I am legion; think about this when you face a grand task without a clue where to begin or the resources to accomplish it. Do you believe it was just your magical superpowers? Think again. I am expansion; there is more to who you are every single second, especially when you become aware of the transformations and self-discoveries unfolding within you. Or perhaps, you are simply “it” a state of being, a form of energy. Maybe you’ll never find a definitive answer, because your search for who you are is the quest itself; the answer is in the journey.
Please share your views about this topic, we would be pleased to hear from you.
Blessings.
