Expanding Identity

Our identity as humans is such a unique thing. Sure, we are all separated my unique DNA strands, but somehow what separates us most from one another is our own personal identities that we carve out for ourselves. We are all motivated by different things, have an appreciation for different things, are in awe of different things, and simply enjoy different things.

One thing I struggled with in high school was carving out my own identity as a person. I always knew what I wanted and what I enjoyed, but in the back of my mind, I was always worried that maybe that dream wasn’t necessarily mine, or that dream was too different from everyone else. It was always easy to fall into the mold of everyone else because it was easy, and felt obligatory, yet I somehow always found my way back to who I actually am.

Now, in college, it’s easy to fall into that same trap, except now I’m surrounded by over 40,000 other students at a huge school. One thing, though, that the University of Texas at Austin does exceptionally well is allowing room for self reflection and exploration of one’s identity. There are hundreds of clubs, classes, and organizations that cater to all different facets of learning, which creates incredible opportunities to grow as an individual and find a deeper understanding of who I am.

I am not anchored to a specific set of things that build up my own identity. Instead, my identity is based around how willing I am to try, to learn, and to understand new things. So long as I continue to take leaps of faith and expand my arsenal of wisdom, then I will seamlessly find who I am and where I am meant to go in this life.