It's not who I am underneath, but it's what I do that defines me- Batman

                Identity is such a plain and simple word, yet it refers to such a complicated thing. Identity is you. Identity is the meaning of your life. It is the sole record and basis of who you are. This is what probably comes to mind when you hear the word “Identity”. Vague isn’t it? To tell you the truth, the word “identity” is up there with “love” and all those words. They will never accurately be defined simply because the meaning of the word may be different to other people. To me, Identity is a shadow. It is shadow that looms over me. It mimics my very actions. It walks side by side with me, and it tags along wherever I go. I can’t do anything about it. It’s just there. I can’t run away from it, nor can I hide from it. Should I be scared? No! Looking at it one day, while I was on the field playing soccer, I couldn’t help but notice it, going for every ball I tried to go for, chasing me as I drove to the goal. After I scored, I paused, I looked back, and there it was, it had halted as well. There I was, in the middle of the field, staring blankly into a dark silhouette figure that fronted me. I waved my hands up in the air to see if it would still persist, and sure enough there it was waving its hands up in the air. I approached it, and it started to run away. I stopped, it stopped. I looked closer at the shady figure, and I realize that it was actually me, its figure stocky and its hair curly. From then on, I stopped fearing it and learned to work with it. Initially, I thought that it would only follow me up and down as I paced up and down the soccer field, and I figured as soon as I turned to the side, I would lose it.  As I turned to receive the ball, I looked and it was there. I turned around again, and it was there. That’s when I realized that, like me, it had many sides to it. Also, at that moment, I realized that this dark shady figure is the symbol of my IDENTITY.

                Look at the pictures on the left. Now you think you pretty much have a good idea on how I am like as a person. Hold on!

                 After practice, as we hit the dugouts, my friend stumbled over my bag, and he happened to topple it over. All of my books and papers spill out of the bag, and as he picks it all up, he happens to see my quiz (10/10). He looks at me with a puzzled and confused look. Then he utters “Oh! I didn’t know you were so smart!” and I reply “What made you presume that I wasn’t?” and he says “You don’t look the type.” That kept me wondering. Why can’t I be both? Why is it that because I’m good at sports, I’m not smart? Why is it that just because I’m stocky, some people assume that I’m not good at sports? Why is it that just because I’m young, some people are surprised to hear that I cook? It’s because a lot of people judge an identity by physical characteristics. It’s because they look at you straight forward, and they fail to see the different sides to your identity.

                Now look at the pictures to the right. It’s quite the opposite of what you first thought. Now you may be wondering which is me? Which is my true identity? The answer is both! I am a prism with many sides to it, and these pictures portray just some of these sides.

                One person who really exemplifies the different sides of an identity is Batman. Just like me, he was initially misjudged, having the different sides of his identity overlooked. In Batman, the main character is misinterpreted as a criminal. Why is that? It’s because people judge him based on his physical attributes. Who can blame them? What would you think if you saw a dark silhouette of a masked man wearing a long black cape flying in the dead of night? In the movie, Batman is misinterpreted as a criminal, when his true identity is a hero. This is all because people never try to find out what’s beyond the mask. They judge solely on what’s outside instead of looking at the doings of the person.

                An identity should not be determined by how you look like, rather what you do in your life. So now, with confidence do I say that I’m an athlete, though I may not look it, I do well in school, despite me being an athlete (jock), and though not very common, I can cook! All of these things are part of my Identity. Bearing all of this in mind, we must also realize that “Identity is such a crucial affair that one shouldn’t rush into” as said by David Quanmen. Your identity is a life long journey. Its definition defined in all the things you will do in the future, and all that you will become. Your identity is your shadow, as you grow, it will grow.

               Who am I? I'm just a your ordinary rambunctious teenager, who likes to do a lot of things, whose horizons are very broad. I'm a very happy-go-lucky kind of guy, who likes to have fun, but at the same time, knows his priorities. I am one who tries so hard to balance the aspects of his life, social and academic.  I am what I am, nothing more, and nothing less. I am what I say I am, and this right here is my identity!