Who are you? Seems like an easy question to answer right? The first thing you probably answer to that question is your name. But what if the question is meant to go deeper than just your name and ask what type of person you are or what kind of person you hope to be? Would you be able to respond then? It can be difficult to answer the question when it becomes more then just your name that is expected as a response.

I know for me I have been trying to search for more than just my name as a response to the question of who I am. I haven’t come up with an answer to the question. Truth be told I don’t think I’ll ever have an answer that’s more than just my name. I’m 15 going on 16 and I have yet to figure out who I am as a person and what type of person I hope to become in the future. I know I have a lot of time to decide who I want to be and where I’m going in life. But to find who I want to be I need to know who I am now. I know I can look into my past and my experiences. I could simply say I’m a survivor of abuse or a victim. Maybe I could even say I’m a fighter, but I don’t think I could ever truly fall into those categories or have that be in a full way who I am as a person.

Whenever I get asked the question “who are you” my mind goes blank, and I don’t know how to respond. My first instinct would be to just say my name but when they go deeper into their questions and ask who I am as a person I always respond with “I’m not sure” or “I don’t know”. I get labeled into the category of “survivor” and “victim” because I have survived years of abuse. I don’t like categories though because they can be the only thing that someone when they think of you.

Categories don’t typically define a person to their fullest extent which is why I prefer being left out of them. If you ask my friends who I am they’ll tell you I’m a risk taker or even an impulsive person. However, that’s not who I am or think I am. Yes, I take risks and I do things on impulse sometimes, but that not all I am because I think things through, and I am rather responsible in certain aspects of my life. I do things that would contradict the idea that I am impulsive or a risk taker. If you ask my family who I am they’ll tell you I am a calm, shy, and a typically very nervous person. However, I find this to also be false. I find this to be false because I know that I can be outgoing and have control over my anxiety around others which would definitely contradict their statements about me.

I think it’s better to not know who I am. It makes it easier to learn and grow as a person. I like not knowing everything because I find comfort in not knowing and doing new things all in hopes of learning more about myself. It spikes my curiosity just a bit and gives me more room to learn and not be afraid of what’s to come if I happen to learn something new about myself. I know that people who know who they are have a habit of sticking to the same routine everyday and it’s not something I want out of life which is why I think it’s better to not know who you are.

In writing this I’ve learned that I don’t exactly not know who I am, but I also don’t have and answer to who I am. In the end I know I will never truly have a response to the question “who are you”. I do however like to think that maybe one day I’ll finally have an answer to the question so many people ask me. Though I like not knowing who I am I think it makes it easier to get through life. Not knowing who you are makes life a bit more interesting and more adventurous. So, you tell me if you were to be asked the question “who are you” would you be able to respond with more than just your name?