3.10.25 // Who we are

"When we don't have a sense of who we are, we unconsciously seek the world to tell us who we are..."
.
I haven't been able to stop thinking about this, and it has been spinning in my mind for days, unraveling in new ways as I sit with it.
.
How often have I looked for someone to tell me who I was? For the world to give me direction, for external forces to hold the answers to questions only my heart could truly answer? Even now, knowing this, I still catch myself doing it... 
.
For so long, I didn’t realize how much of my identity was shaped by outside expectations. Instead of defining myself through my values, experiences, and aspirations, I let the approval of others guide me. My sense of self became tangled in societal norms, fleeting trends, and the opinions of people who didn’t honestly know me. It created a cycle of insecurity.
.
I kept reaching for affirmation, hoping it would fill the gaps inside me, but it never did. Without embracing who I was, I was chasing an ever-moving target, waiting for the world to grant me a sense of worth that could only come from within. And even though I’m more aware of this now, breaking the pattern isn’t always easy. Some days, I still feel the pull toward external validation, but I’m learning to catch it, pause, and ask myself: Is this who I am, or is this just what I think I should be?
.
But that’s not to say we can’t learn about ourselves through the world around us. I believe that beautiful souls, places, and moments can serve as mirrors, reflecting pieces of our truest selves back to us.
.
Learning who we are requires curiosity, trust, and the willingness to look inward. And I’m still figuring out how to do that... how to separate reflection from reliance.
.
Without a clear sense of self, it’s easy to get pulled into what the world expects instead of what truly aligns. I’ve followed empty paths and sought fulfillment in places that left me feeling more lost than before. And while I’ve started to find clarity, I also know this isn’t a destination- it’s a process.
​.
I’m still uncovering, unlearning,​ and redefining what fulfillment and purpose mean to me. But when I take the time to understand what I want and why I’m here, I no longer need the world to tell me who I am. I define that for myself.