Who Am I?

While deceptively simple, this question is often one of the hardest for people to answer. However, the author known as Michel De Montaigne dedicated his life to writing a book filled from cover to cover with essais in an effort to paint a picture of his honest self. In each essay, Montaigne attempts to discover himself by laying forth his reactions and ideas concerning various life experiences and subjects. In doing so, he is able to determine just how much of his “character” was a result of nature, and how much was a byproduct of society. So, using Montaigne’s idea of self-examination, is it really possible to truly know who we are? How might we go about figuring it out? And what is it that truly shapes us today?

People define themselves in many different ways: I am (my name), I am (my job position), I am (my life’s experiences), etc. With so many different means of classification, it is hard to come to a conclusive answer on just what makes you, you. Montaigne’s approach consists of his life’s experiences and while this encompasses practically everything that is you, it still lacks much to be desired in narrowing down one’s identity. So, is it really possible to take something as complex and multifaceted as the soul and shrink it down to an idea we can grasp and understand? . The answer is no, to have a true understanding of who we are could take a lifetime of reflection and then some, which is odd because who knows you better than you? Right? Most people agree with Montaigne that they are the result of their life experiences, but humans have an imagination and free will that allows us to go far beyond what our experiences characterize.

If you can’t truly define who you are as person, it doesn’t mean that you should not tr...

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... advertisements on every wall, or logos on every article of clothing. Today’s generation’s ability to prosper in personal growth is being stunted by its desire for these ever present status symbols.

Instead of trying to promote a well-known clothing line or luxurious automobile, we should be trying to promote less materialism in the eyes of our younger generation. We should be promoting food drives to help solve world hunger. Focusing not on what’s important for the individual, but for what is important for humanity as a whole. The more we address real life problems like these, the more we begin to evolve into better people. Wealth should not be measured by the amount of inches your wallet is, but by our actions in trying to make the world a better place. The more effort we put into these ideas will result in a greater, more profound definition of ourselves.