The Road of Reflection Starts in the Mirror

Being able to identify with your individual self is an ongoing task which sadly, many are not able to discover in their lifetime. It is an excruciating task which requires deep reflection. It enables one to develop a sense of who they are and what role they play in this game of life.

I for example have recently started to discover who I really am. Throughout my life, I have never been able to picture my face as me. Even though I look in the mirror every day, the face I saw staring back at me…I didn't picture that face as being me in my mind. It was always someone else’s face I saw as my own. Even my inner voice, which is supposed to be a replication of your voice, wasn't what I wanted to hear. I always had the voices of others spouting out nonsense in my mind for years.

However, after having a long talk with a very special person, what I've learned to discover is that you are the only you have in this world. You can have all the material possessions, all the fans, the unconditional love from people, but in the end, you only have yourself. What good is it to only have yourself when you don’t even know who you are?

At school this semester, I've been taking a philosophy course called Problems of Identity. I purposely took the course because I had hopes that I would learn who I was and why I didn't know who I was. So I arrived in the classroom with high expectations, eager to receive answers to my questions. But sadly, I didn't find the answers. All I learned was the babble between philosophers and what their thoughts were on how people identify with themselves through experiments. No actual answers were being presented.

So instead, I moved into a house of my own. I moved in during the renovation period where the house needed to be greatly tended to. This decision, this action of moving into this house on my own was where I discovered who I was. Why? Because I’m the only one I can come to when I needed help. Sure I could have always asked people to help me out. However, what good is living on your own when you don't know how to take care of things yourself? When nobody is there to help, you only have you.

So in turn, I learned that I’m the one with the answers to my questions and I’m the one which will provide my identity. No outside source can tell me who I am. I am the only source that can tell me something as intricate and special such as that. Even to this day, this very minute I am still discovering who I am.

In conclusion, the message which I hope you learned by reading this is the only way to discover yourself is by placing yourself in a position where you are the only person you have. No parents, no friends, no guidance counselors, or psychologists. Look deep inside yourself and ask yourself the following questions:

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? WHAT DO YOU WANT OUT OF YOUR LIFE? WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WITH YOUR TIME?

Take these questions and any other questions you might think of and apply it to everything you do in your life. You may surprise yourself. I know I sure did.