Starting at a young age, you typically always get questions asked to you such as “What’s your name?” and “who are you?” but we usually see this as one meaning as a kid. These questions have two completely different meanings but we usually interpret them as one. But what does “who are you” really mean? This question has come to mind a few times, but I never knew how to answer it.

I used to answer to this question as “Hi I’m Nouran, I’m __ years old and I’m in __ grade” and that’s all I was. I wasn’t anything more than a name, and two numbers. There is so much more to us than just that, and that’s why we can never answer this question in just one sentence. Who you are is everything about yourself, and everything you don’t know about yourself yet. In this case your answer now can be a different answer than one month ago, or one year ago, or one year from now into the future. Our lives take different roads leading to our unseen destination and in a moment when someone wants to know who you are, you’re whatever you are in that current moment.

I believe a person has so much more to them than what she/he sees in herself/himself. We experience everything so differently to the point where we notice something about someone that she/he doesn’t even know. How a person describes herself/himself isn’t the same as I or someone else would. We are multi-dimensional beings, not a one-sentence answer.

Who you are is what you don’t always see. This question to me means multiple questions. It is where you came from, what you believe in, what’s in your heart, what you enjoy, and everything else your experiences have made you become. It’s one that you can never answer fully in a quick moment. We usually sum it down to those three basic things about us I mention in the second paragraph. But we are such beautiful creatures who are designed to keep exploring and expanding our minds.

With that being said, hi everyone. My name is Nouran El-Ashry, I’m 19 years old and I am a sophomore at Penn State. My family is Egyptian and I was born in Canada. I’m an evolving Muslim woman who believes there is so much good in the world than what’s being shown to me. I am a kind-hearted, genuine, open-minded person who just wants to explore what this world has to offer me. My interests in mental health and photography have gotten me to decide to double major in Rehabilitation & Human Services and Photojournalism. The question “who are you?” is not only one asked by others but by myself as well; it is why I will be using what I hope to learn in these majors to experience a life-long journey in finding out who I am, and I encourage everyone to enjoy their experiences as well.