There are a number of components that determine who you are. There are outside defining factors. For example, one can be defined as a wife, mother, teacher, cancer survivor, among other labels. One can also be defined by their thoughts and actions towards others. A woman can be strong or courageous in the fight for family or she can be weak and unable to hold her own. One can be short tempered or encouraging. Often our looks or physical factors define how we are seen. People are pretty, thin, short, heavy, physically handicapped, fashionable. But are any of there things truly the determination of who you are?

There are a few things are a set in stone. Your gender, most of the time is an obvious trait. Race or ethnicity is something that does not change. If you are a parent, that adds definition to your persona. Unfortunately, many of those things that are set in stone are used by others to define us. But, the thing(s) that ultimately defines who we are tend to be the things that are woven into us in bits and pieces or inflicted upon us in both positive and negative ways. A famous poet (I believe Emmerson) said, “we are shaped and fashioned by who we love.” There is some truth to that statement but I look at the broader truth of the idea.

I am who I am because of who and what has touched my life, the natural set of boundaries I have been given and most importantly, the manner in which I choose to let these events shape me, the manner in which I internalize them and the manner in which I react to the forces upon my life.

So, I ask myself, for me, what determines who I am? I am a woman, a daughter and sister. I am a best friend and a minister. Those are obvious labels. I was raised by a strong single parent to be very independent. I tend to react when I would rather act. I am hurt by injustice in the world to a degree others do not seem to understand. I love politics and the machine that makes it all work. I am endlessly fascinated by the media and the control it has in the world, therefore, some see me as an intellectual. Those things determine how I am seen. How I incorporate all of those things into my tapestry determined who I am. I incorporate my strict sense of justice by helping people in developing nations that cannot help themselves. I incorporate my fascination with world events by being a life long scholar. I love to learn.

Maybe there is no real answer to this question since I mentioned many things that determine who I am. Yet, all of those things fashion and mold me into the person that I am. So maybe the answer to what determines who you are is. . . . everything and everyone you touch and that touched you determine tiny parts of the whole person.