"Be yourself.Everyone else is already taken"-Oscar Wilde
I recently spent an unexpected three weeks working at a children's camp in Zinkwazi. During my stay at Sugar Bay I came face to face with the reality of identity. I had never given much thought to my name until it was taken away. When you enter the counselor's program,you are given a nickname and no one knows what your real name is. My given name was All Stars,because of the shoes I was wearing,but I got called Snow White,Rapunzel,Ballerina,Rookie and many more. By the second day,people started to notice that,unlike the majority,I did not grab my cigarettes during free time,but my Bible. I became known as The Christian. This sparked a great deal of thought. What makes us who we are?
Is it what we wear,the colour of our skin,the length of our hair,our hobbies,our level of experience or our beliefs?
I was named after each of these things but none of them ever seemed to capture all of ME. For a few moments I realized I did not know what makes me ME. Yes,I was the rookie in the group,but that wasn't all of me. Compared to the tanned Durbanites',my skin was snow white and my hair was by far the closest to Rapunzel's they had ever seen,but I am far more than my looks. Being called The Christian was meant as an offense,but I was quite happy with finding my identity in Christ. Still,I think we are all made up of layers. I am pale and skinny on the outside. On the inside I have a love for dancing and drawing and I am a little bit behind everyone else. I like to write and take photos. On another level,some Eminem songs make me cry,I am obsessed with chinese babies and I love my little sister with all my heart. At the very core of me,I know that I am God's princess and I am captivated by His love for me. All of me is wrapped up into a small,sometimes sarcastic,sometimes annoying bundle of thoughts and ideas named Helen. My perception of all this is just as jumbled and unorganized as this post is. That is me. Oh well :)
