Who Are You? Really?

A lot of things come to mind whenever this question is asked. Generally, a name is given, your country, your state, your race, your tribe, your titles, your degrees, your profession, your net worth, schools you attended and so on. While all these are necessary in describing an individual, be it a man or woman, I just feel there's more to it as a human.

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I think that every human being on the face of this earth has a distinct signature, a unique wave, frequency, energy, pattern, aura. Everything I listed above can never be unique to one individual, not even our names. You may argue that your name itself carries your identity but countless people all over the world bear similar names, even your last name is shared by you and your family members so yes, I'll reiterate again: Nothing listed above is unique to one individual.

When you encounter people, how would you describe them and how would they describe you?. I'm not talking phenotypically here, I'm leaning more towards your aura, the energy you radiate, your persona, your characteristics even. When you strip the titles away from an individual, how then would you describe the man?. Who are you without all that?. How do the people you come across and have dealings with view you?. Who are you to them? This in itself is a tricky one because everyone has something different to say about you depending on your relations with them. We often hear things like; I like him for who he is, I like her personality, his aura is magnetic, I admire her confidence, his bravery, his charm, her charisma. These kind of remarks will come from people who like being around you, people who are drawn to you and feel absolutely comfortable being in your company. It's important to note that some people will have crude, differing remarks about who you are to them too because believe it or not, we all have different personalities depending on who we come across. We slip on a mask so to speak and present the perfect poker face for each game.

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Sometimes, when we see celebrities or people of timber and calibre being interviewed on our television screens, we often hear questions like; how would you describe yourself?. I personally have observed that this particular question is always followed by a short pause before they begin listing a few characteristics they have whilst choosing their words carefully. Some of them stutter along the line, a few others begin their answers with, "I think I am.....". I sincerely do not fault them for their hesitation or uncertainty because while playing the game of pretend, slipping in and out of masks as the situation permits, we often lose sense of ourselves.....lose sense of who we are. Being asked that question sometimes feels like a jolt, a pull back to reality and we just have to stop and ask ourselves, "WHO AM I?".

Fact is, as humans, we are undoubtedly on a journey of self discovery regardless of whether we are conscious to this or not. We all have, at one time or the other subconsciously chased people's approval and validation, slipped in and out of different masks just to belong to a particular group or squad but at what cost?. Most of us end up losing our sense of selves in the process, we become a husk, an empty shell when every single title and association is stripped away. We can't fully grasp or understand the concept of who we are or why we do the things we do.

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I have met a lot of people along the way and in all my interactions, I have noticed that we're all here to serve our own purpose, find our own paths and discover ourselves. We all are just tools to either helping or destroying each other. Each experience from each encounter has shaped the person I have become, the person I was and the person I hope to be because I know for sure that I'm still evolving and this journey only ends when I'm dead.

Along the line, I've been shaken, broken down and reshaped so many times. I have traded away parts of myself that I may never get back, created multiple versions of myself as some sort of coping mechanism. Beyond every reasonable doubt, I have my own collection of masks and I am definitely no stranger to the game of pretend. In this same journey, I have met one or two people that I feel a certain kinship to, people who I can confidently say I bear similar characteristics with. Interacting with these people has definitely been a guide in defining who I am and I am gaining clarity as the days go by. I'll admit that I don't know it all and I'm still on my journey of self discovery but being asked to define who I am a few days back has definitely set my mind on a roll. I'm going to put it out here to everyone, strip away your titles, search within yourselves and answer this, "Who are you to you?. How do you define yourself?. What makes you, you?".