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| Connor Tracy |
By Connor Tracy, Class of 2016
Who am I? There comes a time in every person’s life when they face this daunting question. Whether it occurs while looking in the mirror after a long day at a dead-end job, or while facing your reflection after being elected as the president of the United States, it is the one question that no matter what a person does, he still must ask himself. A lot of times, in order to answer this question, people find themselves listing their titles, such as president of this organization, manager, Christian, son, brother, and so on. But are they really?
Although each person has either been given or has acquired his/her own public and private labels, this does not mean that they are actually carrying out the duties and obligations to fulfill each role. It is easy to fall into the trap of believing that you have achieved your goal when you obtain your title. On the contrary, that is only the beginning. In order to truly be something, you must live it out each day to your best ability. If you would like to really be considered as something, you must hold yourself accountable its requirements, not simply gain that position.
The real problem here is that it is mainly an internal process. From the outside looking in, others see you as your titles. This can create a false consciousness of believing that you really are things that you are not. You may fool everyone around you, but at the end of the day, you will always know your own truth. Only you know your complete thoughts, beliefs, effort, actions, and motivations, and it is in this self-awareness that people discover the truth about themselves.
No one can be perfect, but everyone can strive to be better. By looking at the various titles you claim or are given, and evaluating how much effort you really put forth towards these roles, you will be able to make many decisions that will help you to move forward. In order to become better, a person must choose what roles he/she would like to have/be. Next, after committing to being these things, you must gain an understanding of what it takes and means to serve as that position. With this knowledge, you now know what standard to hold yourself to, and must strive each day to reach this goal. This process will help you to discover your work ethic, values, and quite possibly bring you closer to answering the question of who you are.
Connor Tracy, of Mayfield, Ky., is a sophomore McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. He is studying political science, philosophy and Pan-African studies.