This prompt is particularly interesting to me because I think about my identity very frequently. I think about how I present myself, how I act, how I should act, what phrases I use, how I sound, how I walk, how I talk. These are thoughts I never stop thinking about. They follow me everywhere I go. Why did I sit like that in class? What impression did that give my peers? Which then leads me to the question of is what others think about you a defining factor of your identity or should it be? Because I might know who I am but to some other person I might be perceived in a whole other way. They might view a part of me I view pleasantly in a negative manner. Then I say, “Cansu, you think too much!” And that I do. But what can I do about it, that’s who I am. Or at least I’ve made it so that that’s who I am. You see I feel like identity is what you make of it, what you’d like acknowledge about yourself and what you’d like put in the forefront. I myself am a person who knows who I am and I would even go on a bet to say that I know myself better than anyone sitting in this room. I know that I’m an overthinker, I know that I can be selfish, I know that I can be childish at the wrong times, I know that I can be very mature, I know that I’m very emotional and impulsive (not the best combo). I know I have some traditional thoughts, even though I am also very liberal. And I won’t deny any of these things because I know them for a fact myself. However, I do think that being so open about all of these qualities is also a curse because it leads me into a delibetating hole of constant anxiety. I am aware if I did something selfish, I am aware if I acted unnecessarily stubborn, I am aware if I say something mean. And they will always follow me wherever I go.
