“Astronaut John Glenn says a standard test for astronaut candidates was to have them give twenty answers to the question ‘Who am I?’ ‘The first few answers,’ he said, ‘were easy. After that, it got harder.'”- from Challenge: A Daily Meditation Program Based on ‘The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius by Mark Link, S.J.

This is same question that I was given as my first creative nonfiction prompt. I think it is, in essence, what the genre is all about: self-identity. Also, it explores how humans can turn into monsters and just generally what it means to be human. But before I get off topic…

John Glenn is right. It does get harder after the first few. Believe me, I tried. After the first five, I started to struggle with how else to describe myself. Somehow, it would be much easier if I used metaphorical language. For example: I am purple (it is not only my favorite color, but has always meant ‘passion for survival). But in plain speak, in regular old English, it is much harder.

Here are a few that I came up with:

I am a human

I am a human with strengths and weakness.

I am an observer.

I am an eavesdropper.

I am the daughter of two amazing parents.

I could have added that I am a child of God and a player of Bananagrams and a night owl, but I didn’t think of those options this time. But that’s the beauty of this prompt: It is always changing. If I sat down and did it tomorrow, it might be different. I’m excited to do it in a year or two and see how differently I see myself.

I ended this list with “I am a complicated person,” mostly because I couldn’t think of anything else to write, but also because it is very true. I don’t like the fact that I’m complicated, but it reassures me to think that other people are as complicated as me.

All of descriptions on my list are from myself. They are about how I see me as a person. However, I know that my list might be altered either dramatically or subtly if it was made by my family and friends.

A related quote that I would like to leave you with is: “If I saw myself as my friends and other people see me, I would need an introduction.