Beneath the turbulent waters of self identification, lies a hidden truth that consistently wears a disguise. We identify with labels and titles hoping to achieve a greater sense of self, when in reality we sink deeper and deeper into the cesspool that is an identity crisis. Whether you know of this identity crisis that lies within you as the individual or not, it is always present and alive. We think we know ourselves, however what we “know” is merely the facade that we place on ourselves hoping to find a hold in this great big world.
Get over yourself.
You can tick off the marks on your checklist all day long and still, completeness will never find its way into your life. You are always missing just one last label or word or term to identify with. The next day though, lo and behold,a whole new word presents itself just waiting to be taken and claimed. I am no saint in this regard. I have my own checklist and agenda of titles I identify with as well. However, once one identifies with a term they attempt to always act within the boundaries of that term’s definition.
The more terms we place in our little identity basket, the bigger and hungrier the basket becomes. You cannot sate the appetite of such a thing. By feeding it day after day with “you” the space it can hold grows bigger and bigger and thus, the emptier you feel.
We must not conform ourselves to such a process.
You do you, and I’ll do me.”
The woman who once occupied the little couch beside a little wooden desk, furiously yet calmly strode out of the suffocating, narrow, white room and enjoyed life on the other side of the window.
Her therapist at the desk was at a loss for words.
by Alice Crown, 16, Seoul American High School, South Korea
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