Sherry

Illinois, USA

Fergus Nelson

Ceglie Messapica, BR, Italy

Laura Bruzan

Arizona, USA

Alka

Bali, Indonesia

Kaushal

Contemplate your place in the vast universe and explore the fundamental question of your true identity.

English

Who am I? This is the most important question, the most fundamental question. Yet, this is a question I may never know the answer to. Still, it is a question worth spending my whole life pursuing the answer to.

Who Am I?

 The sun is so massive, one million earths could fit into it. The biggest star we know of in the universe could fit five billion suns. The number of earths that could fit in the universe is a number so big it has sixty digits in it. We don't even have a word for a number that big. Yet, here I am. A minuscule being on a tiny planet in the middle of this massive, massive universe. Who am I? There are things like atoms that are a million times smaller than the width of a human hair. The whole world exists even at that scale, something I cannot even fathom. And I know I'm made of these tiny atoms, yet it doesn't feel that way. Who am I? I exist right here, right now. Things had to happen exactly the way they happened for billions of years. My parents had to meet, and their parents before that, and every single generation before that exactly the way it did for me to be here. I had no control over these things. My being here had to happen. It could be no other way. Who am I? I had no control in being here, yet I feel I can do whatever I want. I feel I can change the world. I feel I have a purpose, I have a mission. Who am I? Life goes on reasonably well, it has its ups and downs. Some days everything is amazing, some days all seems terrible. Yet I wonder, is this it? Is this all there is to life? Who am I? My mind is so filled with thoughts, ideas, memories of the past, worries of the future. This noise and chatter inside me can get so overwhelming. Yet I can close my eyes and focus, and go into a state of calm and peace that exists within this same me. Who am I? I feel something bigger is out there. I feel this when I am in nature, when I see beautiful waterfalls, the tallest of trees, endless oceans, majestic mountains. Or when I am in the presence of love. It really makes me wonder, who am I? My heart pumps blood, my stomach digests food. Every cell in my body is constantly working on regenerating itself. In this very moment, millions of processes are happening within me, yet I am completely unaware of them. Who am I? I feel a connectedness at the most random times. Connectedness to something. When listening to music, when walking along the beach, sometimes when writing, sometimes even when playing a sport. Connectedness to something that I can't seem to narrow down. It makes me wonder, who am I? Did my journey start when I was born? A part of my journey, yes. But my whole journey? Does my journey end when I die? A part of my journey, yes. But my whole journey? Who am I? I see pictures of myself as a kid. I used to look physically so different from what I look like today. I know I will get old and frail. And I will look so different from what I look like today. Yet something has remained consistent. Something within me has stayed the same throughout my life. Who am I? This is the deepest question. The most fundamental question. The most important question. Yet it is a question that I may never know the answer to. Still, it's a question worth spending my whole life pursuing the answer to. Who am I? It's a question no one else can answer for me. For what I do know is that I am not anyone else. Yet I still do not know. Who am I?