NationStates Jolt Archive

So, who are you? Are you what you own, what you know, what you do, where you live, or are you just ... you?

I discovered recently (in the last couple of years) that I have no particular connection to things, places, jobs. I am connected with people, but if my friends and family were to disappear, I would sad, but still myself.

I think that I'm more defined by my intelligence (such as it is) and imagination than by anything else.

So who are you?

I'm a Christian, a Libertarian, a gamer, and a writer. In that order.

I don't quite agree that one is who they are connected to. It's a solid thought, but one word seems inaccurate. Are. I believe that for this to be correct, "are" should be changed to "were." One is not shaped by the present, nor the future (since this is impossible). One is shaped by the past (even though the past was once the present, the present cannot accumulate as the past can.) Their past experiences, choices, thoughts, and decisions create who a person is in the present, and thus guides them forward toward the future.

So, to answer your question, I am my past.

I am an abusive step-father.

I am a loving mother.

I am a crazy 8th grade science teacher.

I am Tom and Jerry.

I am music.

I am a love-struck woman too far away.

I am a midnight canoe ride.

I am a small boy lost at Disney World.

All in one, my past is me.

i find that i have been perfectly defined by the various pieces of ikea furniture i have purchased

I am my brain ( so intelligence and imagination) oh, and I'm drunk, but still my brain :0)

I am the Walrus (Coo coo kachoo).

Like the OP, I don't have much connections with external things. If I had to come up with a four word description of myself, I'd say early 21st century American Catholic. ("21st" isn't a word.) It doesn't really explain the "me-ness" of me, but I think if people from the year 3000 wonder what my beliefs, social background, etc. were, that would be the most helpful.

I am the Walrus (Coo coo kachoo).

*Groans*:p

*Groans*:p

It was inevitable. Just be happy it was me, and not someone with a YouTube link.

I am the Harbinger of Chaos.

I am the mud.
I am the jockstrap on the head.
I am a good swift kick in the groin.
I am the laughter by evil friends following the good swift kick in the groin.
I am the physics degree put to better use than as a glorified secretary.
I am the objective ability to laugh at my own misfortune when it's amusing.
I am flying pie.
I am the friend you call when you need help moving or if you need cheering up after a messy break-up.
I am the friend who leaps out of the bushes and tackles you when you least expect it.
I am the friend who buys the beer.
I am the friend who waits for you to pass out from the beer and then leaves you naked on the front lawn.
I am the result of needing to sleep 6 hours out of every 72.
I am amazed I actually managed to reproduce.
I am in defiance of categorization.
I am getting a little sick of starting each sentence with 'I am'.
I am trying to corrupt the minds of everyone on NSG.
I am succeeding.
I am developing the nagging aches and pains from old injuries one expects from a 35 year old.
I am not letting them slow me down.
I am wearing your pants.
I am the eggman.
I am the walrus.
I am the man who shot the deputy.
I am the grassy knoll.
I am eating your tacos.
I am skilled at escaping straitjackets and padded cells.
I am done.

:)

I am in the air now,
I am in your lungs,
I am written,
I am spoken by a million flaming tongues,
I'm the lens through which you see,
I am the process,
I am the key,
I am synapses firing,
Bullets from a gun...


Har har. More seriously, who you are consists of your experiences, genetics, psychological factors, and social forces.


Oh yes, and thanks to LG's post above mine, he is now my hero.

i find that i have been perfectly defined by the various pieces of ikea furniture i have purchased

Which dining set defines me as a person?


I am a New Englander. I am also defined by my friends and family. My profession impacts me alot, but I'm not sure if it is defining.

i am mephir tophel or so i tell my psychologist, wink wink

I am that guy you like to get drunk with but who never has enough money*sniff*

I am proof of the existence of Marmite for without it I am nothing

I'm alive (http://youtube.com/watch?v=5XcfgSMYFp4&feature=related)(and are really embarrassed I loved that band in summer 2006)

I try not to think about such depressing things really (mostly because your completely wrong and your job does define who you are to a considerable degree)

I'm a Christian, a Libertarian, a gamer, and a writer. In that order.

but not an internet forum thing?!

but not an internet forum thing?!
I put that in with "Writer" :D

I put that in with "Writer" :D

Daisy Steiner is that you? :p

also you listed your political beliefs as a big part of who you are O_o

So who are you?I'm tempted to list the 5 or 6 "famous" people I share my name with, but then I'd have to reveal it...
Just imagine that one or two make for interesting small talk :D

I am a collection of neurons that through some massive coincidence manage to combine together to create a conscienceness...

One is shaped by the past (even though the past was once the present, the present cannot accumulate as the past can.) Their past experiences, choices, thoughts, and decisions create who a person is in the present, and thus guides them forward toward the future.
Maybe, but my past does not define what I am. My identity is a consequence of my history, not that history itself. I'm not just my accomplishments and circumstances - I am also my personality, my role in relationships, my physical presence, my ideas and thoughts and my creations.

I like to think of my "Identity" as the combination of all possible ways of perceiving me. This definition is largely intended to serve as a recursive and ultimately senseless construct (I find the notion of "being" to be relatively useless in comparison to the notion of "doing", which is both much more interesting and much more useful) but it does provide insight into the nature of what it is to be me, I think.

I am the Harbinger of Chaos.

I am the mud.
I am the jockstrap on the head.
I am a good swift kick in the groin.
I am the laughter by evil friends following the good swift kick in the groin.
I am the physics degree put to better use than as a glorified secretary.
I am the objective ability to laugh at my own misfortune when it's amusing.
I am flying pie.
I am the friend you call when you need help moving or if you need cheering up after a messy break-up.
I am the friend who leaps out of the bushes and tackles you when you least expect it.
I am the friend who buys the beer.
I am the friend who waits for you to pass out from the beer and then leaves you naked on the front lawn.
I am the result of needing to sleep 6 hours out of every 72.
I am amazed I actually managed to reproduce.
I am in defiance of categorization.
I am getting a little sick of starting each sentence with 'I am'.
I am trying to corrupt the minds of everyone on NSG.
I am succeeding.
I am developing the nagging aches and pains from old injuries one expects from a 35 year old.
I am not letting them slow me down.
I am wearing your pants.
I am the eggman.
I am the walrus.
I am the man who shot the deputy.
I am the grassy knoll.
I am eating your tacos.
I am skilled at escaping straitjackets and padded cells.
I am done.

:)

Yep, thats about right.:D

I don't quite agree that one is who they are connected to. It's a solid thought, but one word seems inaccurate. Are. I believe that for this to be correct, "are" should be changed to "were." One is not shaped by the present, nor the future (since this is impossible). One is shaped by the past (even though the past was once the present, the present cannot accumulate as the past can.) Their past experiences, choices, thoughts, and decisions create who a person is in the present, and thus guides them forward toward the future.

So, to answer your question, I am my past.

I am an abusive step-father.

I am a loving mother.

I am a crazy 8th grade science teacher.

I am Tom and Jerry.

I am music.

I am a love-struck woman too far away.

I am a midnight canoe ride.

I am a small boy lost at Disney World.

All in one, my past is me.

Great first post. Welcome to NSG.


I am what I am, as modified by what I have been. When all is said and done, I am, and have always been, me. Not the things I own, or the people I know.

So who are you?

I am me. I am not an ideal, or a philosphy, or one of a group such as gamers or writers(though I have both gamed and written quite extensively) but I am myself, the collection of my experiences and self-examinating thought.

I am not pretentious enough to use any metaphors right now.

I am Hobabwes continual disconnection from reality

:)

I don't have one single identity. As time passes, my identity changes. In different situations (different presents) my identity alters. It expands and dilutes in times of happiness and achievement, contracts into a core of determination to endure when suffering or baulked. It's a single point when need be, but the last redoubt is not always the cycle of time-in-thought, nor the experience of biological functioning, nor even the stories I tell myself of the past. All of these are strongholds, none is essential.

There are bounds beyond what I have ever considered "me." The far past and far future; the vile and incomprehensible act; paradoxes and the infinite bounded or unbounded; the varieties of nihilism; perhaps the land of dreams. My identity is bound also by things I cannot know: the day of my death, the actions of others, the unknowability of consequences. The lies of memory, the partiality of the senses. Infinities, bounded and unbounded.

I am not my works. I am not my physical form. I am not my thoughts, nor even my habits of thought. I am not my memories. I am not the passage of time. I am not sensation, nor experience. I am not a friend, nor a part of, nor family to other identities. Any one of these alone would suffice, but none is essential.

Interesting question. I think I reject the premise, that identity can be defined in a space of words.

I am what I do.

Don't even get me started on it, I am quite aware that it's hampering me.

Daisy Steiner is that you? :p

also you listed your political beliefs as a big part of who you are O_o

Yep. My political beliefs reflect on who I am. I don't deal well with authority or structure, yet realize they need to be there. I believe people shouldn't nose into others business. It reflects on my personality, no?

And who's Daisy Steiner?

This was a triumph!
I'm making a note, here: huge success.
It's hard to overstate my satisfaction.

Aperture Science:
We do what we must,
Because we can.
For the good of all of us
Except the ones who are dead.

But there's no sense crying over every mistake,
You just keep on trying 'till you run out of cake!
And the Science gets done,
And you make a neat gun,
For the people who are still alive.

I'm not even angry;
I'm being so sincere right now.
Even though you broke my heart
And killed me.
And tore me to pieces.
And threw every piece into a fire.
As they burned it hurt because I was so happy for you.

Now these points of data make a beautiful line,
And we're out of beta; we're releasing on time!
So I'm GLaD I got burned,
Think of all the things we learned,
For the people who are still alive.

Go 'head and leave me.
I think I prefer to stay inside.
Maybe you'll find someone else to help you.

Maybe Black Mesa!
That was a joke. HAHA. Fat chance.
Anyway, this cake is great;
It's so delicious and moist!

Look at me still talking when there's Science to do;
When I look out there, it makes me GLaD I'm not you!
I've experiments to run,
There is research to be done
On the people who are still alive.
And believe me I am still alive;
I'm doing Science and I'm still alive!
I feel FANTASTIC and I'm still alive!
When you're dying I'll be still alive.
And when you're dead I will be still alive.
Still alive.

Still alive.

I am what I do.

A comfortable gig, if you do a lot. :)

I am the Harbinger of Chaos.

I am the mud.
I am the jockstrap on the head.
I am a good swift kick in the groin.
I am the laughter by evil friends following the good swift kick in the groin.
I am the physics degree put to better use than as a glorified secretary.
I am the objective ability to laugh at my own misfortune when it's amusing.
I am flying pie.
I am the friend you call when you need help moving or if you need cheering up after a messy break-up.
I am the friend who leaps out of the bushes and tackles you when you least expect it.
I am the friend who buys the beer.
I am the friend who waits for you to pass out from the beer and then leaves you naked on the front lawn.
I am the result of needing to sleep 6 hours out of every 72.
I am amazed I actually managed to reproduce.
I am in defiance of categorization.
I am getting a little sick of starting each sentence with 'I am'.
I am trying to corrupt the minds of everyone on NSG.
I am succeeding.
I am developing the nagging aches and pains from old injuries one expects from a 35 year old.
I am not letting them slow me down.
I am wearing your pants.
I am the eggman.
I am the walrus.
I am the man who shot the deputy.
I am the grassy knoll.
I am eating your tacos.
I am skilled at escaping straitjackets and padded cells.
I am done.

:)

But can you say that 3 times real fast?

I am me just me, a simple person, in the minds of others. I think that what defines you can´t be encompassed in what you do, what you know, who you know and what you own. We are that in essence, and so much more.

I'm tempted to list the 5 or 6 "famous" people I share my name with, but then I'd have to reveal it...
Just imagine that one or two make for interesting small talk :D

You're Britney Lohan Winehouse!?:eek:

You're Britney Lohan Winehouse!?:eek:

I was betting on "Adolf".

I'm tempted to list the 5 or 6 "famous" people I share my name with, but then I'd have to reveal it...
Just imagine that one or two make for interesting small talk :D
You haven't got a really standard name like James Brown, have you?

(The wiki disambiguation page for Jim Brown is quite neat, by the way)

I am Sparticus!

Someone was bound to say it.


After getting that out of the way, I am Me, maybe.

So, who are you? Are you what you own, what you know, what you do, where you live, or are you just ... you?

I discovered recently (in the last couple of years) that I have no particular connection to things, places, jobs. I am connected with people, but if my friends and family were to disappear, I would sad, but still myself.

I think that I'm more defined by my intelligence (such as it is) and imagination than by anything else.

So who are you?

I am alive, i know this from past experience.
I own what is mine, however sometimes my possessions get the better of me, like alcohol.
I know how to confuse people and adapt to various organisations.
I study mostly. Apart from that, i think.....alot.
I live in a world of drones who are each unique, despite their curiosity with each other they still can't talk to strangers with ease, even though the greater danger of physical or emotional violence is from those you know.
I'd love to say something witty right now but i can't think of anything.
i guess the best way to talk of me is from what i have done, the quickest is in a few words, but i can't think of those either.
Anyway as i'm sure you are aware I am noting what everyone says here.
oh and i keep having wierd dreams. the wierd thing about them is they seem so real.

But can you say that 3 times real fast?

thatthatthat. :)

I was betting on "Adolf".

Adolf Lohan Winehouse?

So, who are you? Are you what you own, what you know, what you do, where you live, or are you just ... you?

I discovered recently (in the last couple of years) that I have no particular connection to things, places, jobs. I am connected with people, but if my friends and family were to disappear, I would sad, but still myself.

I think that I'm more defined by my intelligence (such as it is) and imagination than by anything else.

So who are you?

"Who dies?"