What If You Were Just Yourself?
A thought experiment, if you please. Should we shatter the masks of sociological performance for a while, the expectations of social order - should we tear down the walls of law and release the burden of tradition, who would you be? What would you build?
Who are you outside of the forces molding you?
This has been on my mind lately as I continually grapple with identity, a ritual I'm certain I'll never cease, for after all we are constantly evolving, changing, growing.
I feel I've grown the opposite direction from cultural expectations, but I feel it is growth nonetheless - like the impossibly crooked tree that, because of its oddities instead of despite them, better withstands storms. A twisted oak amongst fields of pines.
This is not to say I'm special, outstanding, or even unique. At least not anymore than anyone else. It is simply to suggest growth takes on all forms, and that what is culturally considered to be growth may not always have the deep, withstanding roots one might think.
So we wrap back around to the question, who would you be if you did not have to fight the choking fields of pines? What would you wear, or not wear? What music would you blast from headphones and radio? What art would hang on your walls without fear of judgement? What books would sit upon your shelf? What would you watch? Sing? Write? Create? Would you be more open, relaxed? Would you be more closed, content?
Who are you really?
And what would happen if you were just yourself?