In Response to Megan Cooney (2/19/10)

Q: “Is trying to define who we are just a ceaseless task that we will never solve? Can we not just settle for who we, ourselves think we are?”

I find this question very interesting because one of the most important parts of life is finding our true self. I feel that the question of who we are relates to many of the most important aspects of people’s lives, such as religion. People feel that once they understand who they are they will have a better understand of their purpose in life; I completely agree with this idea. I feel that this question implies that the search for who we are may be pointless; assuming that it is pointless would be a major mistake.
We may not be able to fully define who we are in a way that is universally accepted, but I feel it is imperative that everyone attempts to answer this question over his or her lives. Knowing who we are gives our life purpose and meaning. I feel that the small roles people play in their lives do not show who someone truly is. The fact that I am a Boston Celtics fan may be an important part of my life, but I do not believe it is a part of who I truly am. The important part of the search for who we are should involve a person finding something they want to devote their live to. Malcolm X is an example of this idea. He thought he knew exactly who he was by the small roles he played in his life until he went to prison. Once his family introduced him to the Nation of Islam while hew was in prison, Malcolm found true purpose in his life. He explains in his autobiography that there was a moment of awakening, where he absolutely knew who he was; he felt like his true identity had been hidden from him his whole life. I feel that other people will find who they are in many other types of ways, but almost all of these ways relate to helping others.
I feel that it may be impossible to describe absolutely who we are with words, but I believe that people will know who they are once they discover their purpose in life. Too many people become identified with the roles that they play in their lives, such as their job, what religion they associate with, their political party etc. I feel that people will truly know who they are when they stop thinking that these things as a part of themselves. Malcolm X was a Muslim, but I do not feel that this identified who he was; he was a person that was on a mission to teach blacks the truth about who they were because he felt it would improve their lives. People need to focus on a purpose in their lives, and stop trying to identify themselves with words.
I feel the idea of who we are is bigger than the actual question itself. I do not think we can ever fully answer the question of who we are because the answer will be filled with roles that we play in society. Even though I do not think it is possible to answer the question, I feel we should use the question to find a purpose in life; I think a purpose in life causes people to feel truly fulfilled, which is something that identifying with roles will never do. Furthermore, I do not feel we should even get to the point of settling who we think we are, because who we think we are still ends up being an attempt to define ourselves with the roles that we play in society. We need to stop trying to identify ourselves with roles that society determines; we need to find a purpose in our lives.

Can we describe who we are without using the roles we play in society as the descriptors?