It all started with a simple question. In my final weeks of high school I can remember everyone wanting to know. "Who are you?" They asked. "What are you going to do with your life?" At the time I did not have any answers. What teenager really knows who they are at that point in their life? In my mind I knew who I was, like my name and such. In my heart, for my future, that was another thing entirely. How do we know who we really are? Can we feel it? Does our heart's true desire call out to us in the darkness, bringing forth the light? I was determined to find out. I had to know who I really was. I did not want to be that girl who ends up crazy obsessed with work after college, if she even goes. I only knew that I wanted to be someone real and someone with a purpose.
I believe character Jessica Stanley (Anna Kendrick) from Twilight had the best view of this stage of life as shown in her valedictorian speech in the saga's third movie "Eclipse". She said, "When we were five, they asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up. Our answers were things like astronaut, president, or in my case… princess. When we were ten, they asked again and we answered - rock star, cowboy, or in my case, gold medalist. But now that we've grown up, they want a serious answer. Well, how 'bout this: who the hell knows?! This isn't the time to make hard and fast decisions, its the time to make mistakes. Take the wrong train and get stuck somewhere chill. Fall in love - a lot. Major in philosophy 'cause there's no way to make a career out of that. Change your mind. Then change it again, because nothing is permanent. So make as many mistakes as you can. That way, someday, when they ask again what we want to be… we won't have to guess. We'll know."
I began thinking about it again today, and so here I sit writing once more. To give a bit of perspective, I am a visionary taking the concept of speech and putting into the written word. Every word I write makes a difference. Every sentence and chapter could be the one to change someone's life. I have accepted the challenge and made this my responsibility. So, what would I say now to that same question? "Who are you?" They would ask again. This time I have an answer... I am a student. I am a mother. I am a daughter. I am a friend. I am an author. Most importantly, I am whomever I choose to be.
Taking into consideration the idea that not everyone knows what they want out of their life, I encourage all of you to take the time and ask yourself, "Who am I?" Then take another moment to ask yourself, "Who do I want to be?" The answers you find might just surprise you. Never forget that you can always change. Change is sometimes not what we were expecting, but exactly what we really needed. Martin Luther King Jr. once said “If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to... keep moving forward!”
