A couple days back, I sat on my phone waiting for an outpouring of comments and likes on a picture I had just posted onto social media. Every comment and or like reassured me that I was indeed a beautiful and loved person. And I am not the only one who hides behind their phone or computer screen, friends who dictate the people they are, or even a sense of physical style that appeals to most of the population around them.

From the time you are a small child, it is pretty well known who you should surround yourself with — those who can consistently hold on to some sort of idealistic personality and charm are rewarded with an abundance of friends and are more likely to be treated with an elevated level of respect and kindness. Meanwhile, those who cannot maintain an appearance that suits the eyes of most is simply not worthy of our affection or time. Not only do humans try their best to place themselves in a societal mold, but above this, we are known for conforming to what is “correct”.

There comes a point in your life where you wonder, how you truly differ from those around you. What truly makes you you? Can you, with all certainty, sit and completely understand and comprehend the person you are? How you are special, what you offer to life, what life offers to you, what the rest of your life shall entail? Knowing yourself goes further than the obvious. Do you know your own heart? What are you truly capable of as a person? And most importantly, at what age does this enlightenment come into place? Perhaps there are 10-year-olds who know themselves better than a 25-year-old, and maybe a 25-year-old knows themselves better than a 50-year-old. Or is it life that demonstrates to us the type of person we really are? The turmoil and losses, as well as our successes, teach us the people that we truly are. Maybe we never truly know ourselves until the moment we are on our death bed. There tend to be situations in life that completely shock and overwhelm you, and a lot of the time it is because you always believed you would never react in the manner you did.

We tend to get lost in a sea of attempting to retain a similar appearance to those around us. It’s fascinating that being a completely different person just does not seem to be okay. Instead of focusing on ourselves, we are consumed in observing the exact movements of each other. We are not focusing on our happiness, we are focused on letting everyone else know how “happy” we are. The pending question seems to be, if you were in complete solitude, would you still be the same person you are now? Or do you let life get in the way of finding yourself?