Who Am I? | Teen Ink

Who Am I? MAG

By Anonymous

     I like reading The Economist and watching "I love the 80s." I like tennis, Fazoli's breadsticks and writing assignments. I value honesty, commitment, scholarship and kindness. These are hard and true facts, but there is a lot I do not know about myself. I don't know how I feel about the death penalty, I have mixed feelings about religion, and I don't know what I think about a cashless society. I have no stock answer to offer about a life-changing experience or a moment of enlightenment, and it is hard for me to give a comprehensive proclamation of who I am, for my identity unfolds more every day as my experiences grow. Since I am only 17 years old, life has a lot of unfolding to do.

I dislike saying "I am trying to find myself" because my identity is not lost, it just needs more uncovering. Luckily for me, what I love to do and want to be helps me uncover more about myself. I want to be a writer. I may not end up a professional writer but I will always write, even if I am the only one interested in my work, because writing is my self-reflection.

When writing, I sometimes get worked up into such a fervor that I barely know what I am saying. I just let my fingers fly over the keyboard and the ideas pour from my head. When I go back through the jumble of unpunctuated ideas, I notice a theme running through the writing. I don't try to put a moral in the theme, but invariably it happens. Evaluating the theme and the rest of the writing helps me interpret my own character and decipher my at times bottled-up feelings. In opinion essays, my values show. In stories, the fictional characters express my beliefs.

Every day my experience and knowledge increase, and I learn more about myself. Each time I write what is in my head as honestly as I can, another piece of the identity puzzle is revealed. Mostly, I like what is unearthed (though this varies depending on how "teenage girl-ish" I'm feeling). I am not worried that I don't know everything about myself. As I get older, I'll figure it out.



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This article has 49 comments.


bigboymj04 said...
on Oct. 10 2018 at 12:49 pm
bigboymj04, Cameron, Manitoba
0 articles 0 photos 3 comments
are you mad because if you are than im sorry jk im the baddest okuuuuuuuuurt periodt

bigboymj04 said...
on Oct. 10 2018 at 12:46 pm
bigboymj04, Cameron, Manitoba
0 articles 0 photos 3 comments
okkkkkuuuuuuuurt
Periodt
point blank periodt
Okay no okuuuuuuuuuuuuuurt

chxndler said...
on Oct. 10 2018 at 12:44 pm
chxndler, Bunnlevel, North Carolina
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
Aye but follow me @ohh.mann.chann on instagram and amosc @missy_chandler okuurrrrrtttt

bigboymj04 said...
on Oct. 10 2018 at 12:43 pm
bigboymj04, Cameron, Manitoba
0 articles 0 photos 3 comments
You just need to know that the hater are sent to slow you down and you just gotta keep going . Your going to go places okuuuuuuuuurt PERIODT

ickyvicky said...
on Oct. 10 2018 at 12:42 pm
ickyvicky, Spring Lake, North Carolina
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
@chxndler , sammmeeee

chxndler said...
on Oct. 10 2018 at 12:37 pm
chxndler, Bunnlevel, North Carolina
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
If you put out a book I will read it sus. PERIODTTTT

i love this so much!

Lilianaacuna said...
on Sep. 23 2014 at 3:16 pm
Lilianaacuna, Berwyn, Illinois
0 articles 0 photos 4 comments
I am currently applying for colleges, so I understand how much thought you have to think about these questions, that I can't even answer myself.

Ali Li said...
on Jul. 9 2014 at 11:16 pm
Ali Li, Guangzhou, Other
0 articles 0 photos 3 comments
You asked who you are but in my veiw, actually you know very well about yourself.  Meanwhile, I agree that you are lucky for at least you have your hobby and you are sure of that. Poor the guys including me who do know what they really like.

aakachandra said...
on Jun. 13 2014 at 4:22 am
aakachandra, New Delhi, Other
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
I truly agree with @SmellLikeTeenWriter . The essay is good but not great. You dont need to tell what you like or love. Many do it that way. It sounds like a raw beginning. The essay's first impressions should be as good as its last.

on Nov. 10 2013 at 6:11 pm
Deej6595 BRONZE, Billerica, Massachusetts
3 articles 0 photos 369 comments

Favorite Quote:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

This is a good essay. I feel the same way you do and so do most teens so, it is good that you are writing this down for others to see.

sepanya.com said...
on Oct. 9 2013 at 5:14 am
i love it.i've learned a lot from it and nw i have a bright ideas on how to answer dat question.

ohGodwhy said...
on Mar. 18 2013 at 5:04 pm
nerds. nerds everywhere

LALALALAAL said...
on Mar. 18 2013 at 5:02 pm
what was the theme??

boredd2233 said...
on Mar. 18 2013 at 4:59 pm
how can 7 billion people want to be writters if you're saying there's only 6 billion people in the world? And this essay was pretty good... and there are 7 billion people in the world and your username is friggen amazing<3 nirvana<3

on Nov. 27 2012 at 6:34 pm
Deej6595 BRONZE, Billerica, Massachusetts
3 articles 0 photos 369 comments

Favorite Quote:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

I actually think it is better to start off your college essay like this. It's more personal than a mundane school format. I want to write my esssay like this, so thanks for the reassurement.

Dickey05 said...
on Oct. 11 2012 at 4:06 pm
Yeah i agree with that, and i sometime feel the same...

. said...
on Sep. 16 2012 at 7:59 pm
I'm sure quite a few people feel this way (I know I do). What was the propmpt or was this just a practice? Thanks for the de-stressor.

on Sep. 12 2012 at 6:35 pm
SmellsLikeTeenWriter SILVER, Adel, Georgia
5 articles 20 photos 19 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Hey, you know, life’s like a bucket of wood shavings. Except for when the shavings are in a pail- then it’s like a pail of wood shavings." -Spongebob Squarepants

I hate to break it to you, but this essay isn't great. Maybe it's good, but it certainly isn't anything a college admissions board hasn't seen before. Your grammar is fine, but your imagery is weak and actually very cliched. If there are 6 billion people in the world, then 7 billion want to be writers. Don't tell them that you want to be a writer; show them. Show them by writing an essay about something you are passionate about. And preferably something other than writing, and unless you can come up with something much better than this. I don't mean to be rude or insulting- obviously you've got some potential- I'm just trying to give some constructive feedback!

Sarah said...
on Sep. 12 2012 at 12:49 pm
I loved it! Very well written and it was focusing on you and that was a typical college essay should be. :)