Branded: The Search for my Identity

Brand: n. a mark made by burning or otherwise, to indicate kind, grade, make, ownership, etc.

The search for identity has always been an interesting plight. From birth, our identity has been dictated to us because of our gender - girls must wear pink bows in their hair and play with Barbies, while boys must be fearless and be a star player on some sporting team. It's said that our identity is discovered in adolescence, but I'm not certain about this conclusion for I look at my college peers and discover that they are still on the quest to find who they really are.

From the friends that associate with to the organizations, they are clueless about who they are. Many times they allow their peer groups or organizations to define them and are still unable to separate the real versus ideal self. This is because they become branded to the world that has made them an imitation of what they wish they really were.

Think about those "secret societies" that force individuals to lose their sense of self to become a clique of lost souls who are unable to find themselves. From the colors they are required to wear or the name change that takes place they are stripped of their real name to be identified as someone else. How can you take my name from me and call me what you want me to answer to as if I'm a reincarnation of myself no longer holding on the ideals and values that I once held.

I'm not bashing these organizations, but just curious to know how many people honestly know yourself and identity prior or do you allow it to define you because you had no sense of yourself before.

Who were you before and who are you now? If these answers to these questions are different, do some soul searching and find out who you really are.