Who we are: a poem
I’m at that age where the question of who I am pounds my brain
I think about the choices I make
And how much of them are based off of other people
Each one of them, leading me to a different terrain
It seems as though the people make the choices for me
Sometimes I wish I knew who I was
Without the factor of other people
But maybe there’s no other way it could be
Maybe we really are the results of the people we’ve met
And the places we’ve been
The laughs and the tears
And the memories we have left
We recognize people’s idiosyncrasies
And unconsciously, we act upon them
We take something from everywhere we go
And along the way, we discover new identities
Some days are good
And some days I can hardly keep my shoulders straight
Some days are good
And some days all I can rely on is fate
Some days are good
And some days I can hardly say hello
Some days are good
And some days I would rather travel solo
Some days are good
And some days I can hardly go to the grocery store
Some days are good
And some days picking an outfit feels like a chore
I think about who I am
How I smile
How I laugh
How I cry
And how I only eat peanut butter when it’s with jam
I’ve learned that it’s okay to take things from people
Under the condition of adding twists and changes
To our preferences
Otherwise, life would be too simple
I think about who we are when we’re alone
And who we are when we’re together
Are we different, or are we the same?
I don’t want to rhyme anymore
I don’t want to post an Instagram story
I don’t want a Spotify premium
I don’t want to read books in public
I don’t want to make a Tik Tok
I don’t want to match my outfit
Or buy a car
I’d rather stay mysterious
I don’t want to be mysterious
I’d rather be loud and courageous
I don’t want to be loud and courageous
I’d rather be cool and funny
I don’t want to be cool and funny
I’d rather be a creative
I don’t want to be a creative
But who do I want to be
Who do we want to be
And why
And how
I think about those things
I no longer like those things
I think about who we are as humans
What we’re here to do
Each and every one of us
How we grow and flourish into the people that we become
Constantly evolving and constantly going from one stage to another
If only we let ourselves
I think that the conclusion I came down to was that
We are all so deeply flawed
In such different ways
In ways that we cannot comprehend
Nor describe
But we are also the writers of our own stories
Continuously going from one point to another
Constantly fighting obstacles along the way
We are all so deeply wounded
But there is beauty in our wounds
And that is the beauty of life
That we are as flawed as we are
As wounded as we are
And yet we are here
Every day,
We have the rest of the day to ourselves
And we make choices
Choices, that end up defining us
Choices, that make up who we are
And every day,
We are who we choose to be
And the highs only feel as good as they do
After we endure the depth of the lowest of lows
There is beauty in finding our way back
And, we will
We do
We always do
We always find our way back
And we become different when we do
Because we grow
And every time we grow,
We are different than who we used to be
A newer version than what was
And every day,
We are writing the pages of our stories
We are directing the scenes of our movie
We are calling the shots
We are contributing a verse to our play
And we are deciding,
what our verses will be
Trust that you will find your way again
And that one day,
failure will become something you learn from and not fear
Understand your potential
Become aware of your opportunities
Know that, where you are now isn’t your forever
You are who you make yourself out to be
Trust in who you are
