who am i?

I am one of those people who happens to love the Tobey Maguire Spiderman movies. I personally thought he did a great job (haters gonna hate!), and growing up, my sister and I watched those movies all the time. I can distinctly hear him saying, "Who am I? Do you really want to know?" at the beginning of the first movie, and since I really appreciate a good full-circle moment, I always get goosebumps when the movie ends with him saying, "Who am I? I'm Spiderman." That's a pretty great full-circle moment, if you ask me!

I've been thinking a bit about my identity lately. Ever since Emalyn was born, I've naturally identified myself as a mom. Ever since Peter and I got married, I've identified myself as a wife. I'm also a daughter, a sister, and an aunt. I'm a friend and a colleague too. Funny how it's so easy to figure out who we are if we simply base our identities on our relationships with others.

But who am I beyond that?

I love being a mom, a wife, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend, and a colleague. But there's more to me than that. I'd argue that there has to be more to me than that. One day, some of the people that have granted me these titles will no longer be in my life, for one reason or another. Who will I be then?

These are other aspects of my identity that immediately come to mind, in no particular order:

Teacher

Musician

Writer

Reader

Disney fan

Williams grad

Geek

Hopeless romantic

Adventurer

Introvert

Woman

City girl

Former athlete

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Looking at this list, I realize I'm nostalgic for the past with some of these items. With others, I'm willing myself to be more of who I used to be, the titles that once defined me more than they do now. That's the challenge, isn't it? It's easier to say who we aspire to be as opposed to admitting who we actually are.

The one that is probably the most important is the one I've saved for last. I'm also a child of God.

What does that mean, exactly?

It means that when I'm unsure of who I am at any given time, I can always find my identity in Him. It means I should take after Him. Maybe not in the way I have my dad's eyes or my mom's nose, but in the sense that I'm like Him. I'm patient like Him. I'm forgiving like Him. I'm loving like Him.

I am nowhere near being as patient, forgiving, or loving as God right now. But I'm striving to be.

Who am I?

I am a work in progress. And that's okay.