Derek somewhere in the voodoo ether said:
"I don't think that one can change who one is; nor should one.
If you are untrue to who you are, you are doomed to fail, because someone will love you for something you're not."
I'm not so sure about that.
I am who I am when I am where I am. Before you get too puzzled by what that is supposed to mean, I'll try and explain.
I don't think we can look at ourselves as static objects (and I know that isn't what Derek meant to imply - but follow along anyway for fun). Everything affects us and we are in a constant state of change. From one moment to the next we can be different people - and I don't mean wildly different - and I certainly don't mean to suggest split personalities or anything - but at any given moment something inside of us can change and we can view the world in a completely different way. It could be as simple as a mood - changing us from happy go lucky to blah... Or it could be more fundimental - like reading or seeing something that completely changes our understanding of everything we thought we knew.
The only time we are who we are is where and when we are when we are. Like right now - we are not the us of 5 minutes ago or the us of 5 minutes from now - we are the us that we are at this moment.
This is exactly the sort of thing about me that drives my girlfriend bonkers. I can like something one day - and be 'ennnh' about it another - and like it fine again a week from then. I could be completely stoked about doing something for months and suddenly loose interest and move on to something else. I REALLY like to eat peppers in the summer - and raspberrys taste best to me in Hungary - but if you ask me about those things at other times and places - they won't mean nearly as much to me. Everything is relative.
I reserve the right to change. Change my mind, Change my appearance, Change my tastes, Change my attitude, Change my life. I also reserve the right to change back for any reason.
I am who I am when I am where I am
andre
Posted by andre at January 20, 2005 12:11 AM>>changing us from happy go lucky to blah...
Ahh, but I don't think your core you-ness, and core values are so flighty. I'm against death penalties, war, and the corrupt use of power.
>>I REALLY like to eat peppers in the summer - and raspberrys taste best to me in Hungary
That makes sense to me, because I'm similar. It doesn't make sense to others. Thing is that's not central to who I am. I think I'd still be me even if I didn't like to eat X.
If you like to reinvent yourself often, I'd say that's at the core of your youness, and that won't change.
Posted by: derek at January 20, 2005 10:04 AM