Who we are as people.

I have been reading a lot of articles online lately. While there are many about the newest movie out or the hottest start that just had her baby, I find myself more interested in the self help/empowerment reads. That's just the kind of person I am. And judging from the abundance of these types of articles, it seems that majority of 20-somethings, just like myself, have existential crisis as often as they change their underwear. This makes me feel no so alone. Thank god.

These articles I keep reading try to steer the reader into realizing who they are, what they like, and where they should go after they have realized these said attributes. But the problem is that each article is contradicting itself. One article tells me I am not my writing, I am not the art I create or the lyrics I write on my twitter or put up in my room. Another article tells me I am. The thing that's wrong with this is that I begin to choose the articles and the advice that I want, and disregard the rest. Sure, it's easy to accept that i'm not my horrible writings, and i'm not my fuck ups, and i'm not the way I dress. It is easy to believe I am not the negatives and is easy to believe I am the positives.

I chose to believe what I want to believe because it makes me happy and is easy to do. But there is a lot of flawed thinking in this. I realize that all of these people have been collectively giving me the wrong advice. The harsh reality is that I am simultaneously not the writing I create, the way I dress, or words I hang on my wall, because I am collectively all of these all wrapped into one. I am the mistakes I have made, the advice I give, the positive and negative aspects of my personality.

Although the negatives always seem to hold more weight than the positives, I need to realize and accept that this is a flawed way of thinking and that I should, instead, devote the same amount of energy and time that I do towards negative affirmations as I do towards the positive ones. If I put the same energy into believing I am all of the positive things about myself that I do believing I am the negatives, my life would be a lot fuller.

It is important to recognize that I am both the good and bad just like everybody else is. With the plus sides come the negatives and this is true for every person and every situation that has and ever will existed. It is crucial to self progression and self actualization to take a holistic point of view when assessing oneself instead of sticking to one sided realizations.

The main component of growing and realizing who you are though, is also realizing that at any given moment, upon any given day, one can change their entire being and their entire life. You are what you feed your head, and you are what you think about. In order to change into someone worth being, someone that feels good to show to others, light must be brought out from darkness and attention must be given to things that really hold true meaning. And if this happens, then you are guaranteed a life of richness.