Who am I?

A common question posed by many adolescents. A query about their very existence.

A question I still don't really know the answer to.

I've been blessed to be accepted by many different groups, Student Government, Girl Scouts, Choir Kids, Theater Kids, Girls Soccer, Yearbook, and more!

But I would sometimes ask myself, "Who am I?"

I didn't realise how important it was to know who I am until senior year. I realised I would finally be going away to college, high school would finally be over, but who was I without all those extracirricular activities?

I think in high school we get so caught up with trying to fit in, and trying to feel like we belong, that we lose sight of who we are. We feel pressured with labels: A cheerleader, a jock, a choir kid. If I asked who someone is, someone would respond "they're in art Club," or "they're in poms." Or there are the kids with multiple talents: "She's in choir and soccer." "He's in band and basketball." Those things are a part of them, but that's not all they are.

You are not your high school club. You are not just "the Theater Kid" or "the Track Star." You are a person. You are a Fruit Loop in a world full of Cheerios. You are the grape nerd that's always in the box of strawberry nerds; they don't make them like that on accident.

You have to separate your individual voice from the voices that have been telling you what to do and how to think and what is cool and what is lame. You decide how you think, and you decide how you are. And you should never be apologetic for being yourself.

So what about high school? It's not forever. It will end, and those labels you worked so hard for, will no longer matter. But the person who is behind them will.

So ask yourself, "Who am I?"

Me? I'm not just the Choir kid, theater kid, soccer girl, Girl Scout, yearbook editor, or student government girl. All of the above is a part of me, but it isn't who I am. I'm a person.