Exploring Who I Am...

Who am I? Answering that question with superficial aspects of me is easy. I am a Christian. I am a Black American, 21 year old women, who was raised on the east side of Detroit. At the end of this month, I will be a University of Michigan alumnus. This summer, I will begin my journey as a medical student. I am a daughter, a niece, a girlfriend, a sister, a friend. But all of these are merely labels right? What I just described is what I am, not who I am right? Wrong! What I am is a large part of who I am. The labels that define me are what have shaped my experiences. Life experiences have cultivated and will continue to cultivate who I am. But sometimes in life, with the influences of friends, family, and the media, who I am and who I want to be can get lost in who others want and/or expect me to be. So I am working to explore who I am; who I really am inside. Not the person I pretend to be in order to please others. But the real me. The me I can’t exactly describe right now. But I’ll get there. Sooner or later.