finding who we are

Trying to find who you are in a world full of people who will criticize you is very hard, especially now that there are so many options of who you can be, and I have noticed that people can live their entire lives not really knowing who they are.

For the first few years of our lives, who we are is controlled by our parents or those who care for us. They tell us what we can wear, what we can do, who we can be friends with, and so on. As we approach our teenage years, we slowly get more freedom to be who we want to be, but it is also at this time that peer pressure rises and people wanting to be 'cool' or 'fit in' can sometimes get in the way of them being who they really want to be.

Clearly we don't all know who we want to be instantly, and it often takes a lot of experimenting to know what kind of person we want to be, what kind of clothes we want to wear, what kind of hobbies we want to have. But to me, it seems like at the same time we should be trying all sorts of things out, we allow our peers, and sometimes the media, to condemn us to fit into a certain stereotype and dictating how we should look, behave and what we should like to do.

I know plenty of people who have become a victim of this, and feel under so much pressure just to fit in, but ultimately who is it for? It's certainly not for themselves. I think that we should all be encouraged to be ourselves more, and I know that this is the same thing that everyone says, but it's something that I truly believe in. Our identities should only be chosen by us, and we should be able to feel comfortable and happy with exactly who we are, not who we should be.

The next time you have the choice to be yourself, whether it's when wearing something, starting a new hobby, whatever, just remember that your happiness and comfort with what you are doing is far more important than what anyone thinks of it.