Finding Who You Are

The older I get the more tolerant I get. I don't know how someone as opinionated as me can become tolerant, but I have. I no longer see the teenage boy behind the counter of the local fast food restaurant struggling to make my change with piercings in his tongue and ear as some low life who threatens the security of my whole way of life, but as a young man who is trying to find how he fits into this world. You see the times have changed but our uncertainties and insecurities have not. Do I think he is going down the wrong path with his piercings to try to define his identity? Sure, tolerance doesn't imply approval. But is he so different from the long-haired marijuana smoking hippies of my generation. Is he so different than I was with a cigarette hanging out of my lip, hair cut into a flat-top, and wearing wheat jeans so I would fit in with my peers. We all want to be accepted by our peers and we all want to be our selves. We want someone to take note that we exist on this earth and that we are important. We take different paths trying to figure out who we are and what we are here for, but we all struggle to find the answers to those questions.

I am reminded of a quote by William Barclay, "There are two great days in a person's life -- the day we are born and the day we discover why." This young man is beginning the process of discovering what he is here for. Self identification is the first step. To know why you are here, you have to discover who you are. In a few years most of these kids will discover that it is just as important to fit into society as it is to be noticed by your peers and the piercings will disappear. Every person goes thru this process of self-discovery. Some will be going thru it most of their lives. Some will learn early in their life who they are. Some will think they have discovered early who they are and spend most of their life trying to be someone they are not. I am convinced that sooner or later everyone will discoveer who they are.

I hope your journey of discovery will be both enjoyable and short.