In a world influenced by social media, societal norms, and unrealistic public figures, it is very easy to drift away from who we are. Especially being in high school and middle school which is a time period in which people often change themselves to "fit in" and go along with certain trends because of their friends and peers. One of the hardest things to do is being able to find one's core. Think of it like a big circular diagram...in the very center, you have yourself. This is your core. Then there is one ring around your core, these are objects and people that are close to you. For example, your best friends, your family. This circle is very small as it is the certain people that help define you and who you become (keep in mind though, they are not the cause of your being, they are simple influencers). The next circle is people that are important to you, but do not have such a big impact on your life. Maybe people you see everyday at school but don't talk to otherwise. Or friends you maybe don't see or talk to each day. The last level is all external things, they do not have much impact on you. This would include people we call as acquaintances, or people that you have never connected with. The people and things in these three circles may move around throughout your life (for example, someone you considered to be in your first circle may drift away and now move to the third circle). Expect these three circles to orbit and change around...but the one thing that should never move is yourself, and your core. The most important thing to remember is that these objects and people DO NOT define your core, they simply orbit around you. They may influence you as a person, but only you can define and truly impact your growth and development. Often when you ask people about themselves, they tell you things about themselves that are linked with external things such as "I have a sister/brother" "I enjoy spending time with my friends"... yes, all of these things in a sense help people identify who you are...but if you were to truly describe who you are, what would you say? With all other circles aside, if you were left with just your core...then how would you describe yourself? It's hard isn't it? Identifying yourself is one of the hardest things to do, but once you start thinking about who you are without external things, you tend to know more about yourself internally. The closer that you get to your core, the harder it is for you to get influenced by others. Soon, things like social media, external opinions will remain in the outer circles and you will be intact to your core. That is often why people say "be connected to your roots" Your roots is you. And who you are. So...if you were to talk away all of these outer circles, who would you be?
-Astha Soni
April 11th, 2019.
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