"Seaching for Self"

Hey, let me ask you something, who are you? Serious question, WHO...ARE...YOU? Now this may seem like a redundant question, but have you ever really thought about the answer? Go ahead and give it a moment. Don't worry about me, I'm okay, I'll wait. Now let me say this, if you answered this question by only responding with your name, ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm NO, that was not what I was hoping to hear. While your name is indeed important, it does not define who you are. It does make it easier for friends to call you when they need a favor, but define you, no.

Look deep within self, what does your heart say? First and foremost, I hope it's saying "thump, thump," but aside from that, what would your heart say to you if you were with a friend, and some people were making fun of that friend? Would you choose to defend that friend, or would you allow that friend to be fun of? I'm speaking of course in regards to your actions. As human beings, we have been blessed with the gift of rational thought, and with that ability comes the responsibility of choice. Everyday, every hour, every minute, and every second, we are faced with choices that will determine what actions we choose to take. The very action you choose, regardless of whether it is positive or negative will ultimately be a defining factor in who you are as an individual.

So I guess this may help you define yourself a little, but it still doesn't tell you how to answer my question, does it? Well let me answer this question first, maybe it will help a little, "How do you find yourself?" How...hell, I don't know. I'm not Oprah or Dr. Phil. I can't tell you how to find yourself, nobody can. That is a journey that you as an individual make throughout your life. While I can't tell you how to find yourself, I can tell how I knew when I found myself.

Imagine your bathroom mirror, you see your reflection every time you peer into it, don't you? Well, I recall a time when I didn't see anyone. I would stand directly in front of my mirror, but nothing. I was invisible, or at least that was the way I felt. Day after day, I would look into that mirror hoping to catch a glimpse of the person on the other side, but he would never show himself. During that period, if someone would have asked me, "Who are you," I would not have known how to answer that question. I had lost myself, or to be more precise, I had yet to find myself, my heart was empty. Now I can't tell you exactly what type of change I made in my life, because I don't remember completely, and maybe it doesn't matter anyway; the path in which you take to find who you are may differ from the one I chose for myself. You know, I still remember the feeling I had when I looked into the mirror one day, and caught a glimspe of something I hadn't seen in a long time. Unfortanately, it wasn't my reflection, but as looked closer, I could see my eyes. I had felt like I had found a small piece of peace within myself. I thought it was crazy, standing in front of a mirror, and all I can see are my eyes. The funny thing is, I was happy, because for the first time in my life, I felt as if I was discovering who I really am. As time passed, I began to see more and more of myself. It started with my nose, then my cheeks, I even saw a smile, until one day I came to the mirror, and there it was, or should I say, there I was. My search for self is everlasting, as I hope to continuing growing in every facet of my life. What I can tell you is for the first time in my life, I had truely felt whole, and now, whenever someone ask me, "Who are you," I tell them...