Gracie H.
Photography by Jackson Covert
If you’re reading this, learn how to embrace your authentic self.
To-do lists, sticky notes, meetings, homework, planning, tests, friends, and big questions all at once: life seems to be in a constant, forward moment. Responsibility increases and expectations rise, all while you may not feel like your best self, creating a barrier between what you are feeling and what you “must do.” This can make it difficult to navigate life on your own, being away from your families as young adults, seeking to discover exactly who you are.
My name is Gracie, and I too, am a person that feels overwhelmed by this constant that is life sometimes. Finding, embracing, accepting, and loving my self-identity has been a key component to understanding who I am & what I choose to do about it while in college at SMU.
I remember being a young student with free-flowing thoughts at all times. Questions of “How am I going to get this done in time?”, “What should I wear to this?” and “Why do they not like me?” were present in my young mind. However, as I have grown into a young adult, one question that has broadened my curiosity is asking myself: “Who am I?”
The consistency of these mental interruptions eventually became problematic, enough to where I realized I had to take action upon my self-reflection.
Learning how to filter through this adventure that is life sometimes is not easy. However, one aspect I have been carrying with me is constantly being on the search for who I am. While that is not in itself a straightforward answer or a definitive one even, I have realized that encountering several essences of myself as I am growing has allowed me much necessary and beneficial reflection to ask better questions: “Who am I surrounding myself with?”, “Are my habits healthy ones?” and “How can I be a catalyst for positive change?”.
I am cognizant of the fact that not everyone has the same perspectives on various aspects. Stigmas, stereotypes, assumptions, fabrications, fake news, and all kinds of social barriers exist in a college’s culture. Therefore, trying to find the light in the midst of this—who you are—can be difficult.
You are the author of your own story, being the main character in it. I encourage you to recognize that you have the choice, the resources, and the support to establish this truth. Although conformity sometimes may appear to be the dominant selection in college, I urge you to simply be who you are, absent of this societal pressure. It may not be the easiest or most appealing choice, but in the long run, you can only be genuinely who you are.
As the great poet, William Ernest Henley, stated in his poem, “Invictus”: “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul” (lines 15-16).
Having tough conversations, harsh realizations, and necessary reflections about, “Who am I?”, “Who I am surrounding myself with?”, “Are my habits healthy ones?” and “How can I be a catalyst for positive change?” are all examples of the big questions I have challenged myself with this last year and what I hope to carry with me while at SMU and beyond.
As young adults entering this transitional journey, I hope that we can work together, as fellow Mustangs, to ask these challenging questions. Alone, these can be heavy, difficult questions to answer. However, together, they become less intimidating and easier to ponder.
Gracie H., Southern Methodist University
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