Know Thyself

To be happy, one needs to know who they are. After almost 25 years of life, I'm slightly disconcerted that I couldn't say that I know myself very well. Knowing yourself is more than knowing a list of things you have done, or even knowing things you are likely to do again out of habit or for pleasure's sake. It's not a list of things you like or dislike. It's even more than an understanding of personal beliefs and knowing why you hold certain opinions. We are more than the sum of our parts. We are more than our histories. Being is a choice. We may have certain tendencies and subconscious drives which partially dictate our behavior, but at the beginning of each day, we make choices to determine who we will be at the end of the day. Can we choose our likes and dislikes? Or our beliefs? To a certain extent, I believe we can. But ultimately, WHY we choose what we do is at the core of who we are.