Find out who you are, and do it on purpose

Its called the Ophelia Syndrome, and it means to let someone else dictate what you feel and what you think. In Hamlet when asked a question Ophelia responded, "I do not know, my lord, what should I think?" This type of person has no knowledge of who they are, and they put no stock or confidence in themselves. They look to others for direction, and easily fall victim to being someone else's carbon copy: ->"If we both think the same way, one of us is unnecessary".


I read a article once that said: "We do a great deal of talking to ourselves, haven’t you noticed? Somewhere along the line, it occurred to me it might be worthwhile to get to know this other fellow I was forever talking to. I might, for one thing, begin to get along with him better. And then, he always seemed to know more about me than I did about him, and that struck me as a great disadvantage to me. So I decided to become better acquainted with this other fellow. And so, I began to know more about myself."
This got me thinking. I spend so much time alone in my own head, but do I truly understand the person talking back to me? I have discovered more about myself in just these 5 months of living alone than I though possible. And the more I get to know myself the more I love who I am.  

In order to reach this level of understanding I knew I needed complete and full honesty from this person I was trying to get better acquainted with. This is the only way I could know where I stood with this person. 

Another important key is trust. "Every man is liable to find himself, at some time, in a situation where everyone else disagrees with him. That is when he must know that fellow he talks things over with—has to know there is no compromise in him—so that when this fellow tells him he is right, it hardly matters what anyone else says". If you can trust that person in your head then you will always stay true to her, and in that regard always stay true to yourself. "But the stresses of living are sometimes rapid and sometimes heavy, and very often insinuating and plausible. Your mind can take countless turnings to satisfy desires and appetites. At that point, because he knows you so well, this other fellow won’t let you respond to anything but the truth—stark and unadorned".

This concept of finding our who you are is to combat the Ophelia Syndrome. Many people out there take the easy way out and just go along with those around them. There are a lot of people out there that think this character is found in all Mormons. While I am sure there are plenty of them out there that fall victim to this, handfuls upon handfuls in fact, there comes a point when you have to find your own faith. You can't rely on the beliefs of your parents and those around you forever. I have taken the time to ponder and discover what I truly believe for myself. Living on my own has made that personal faith an even deeper part of me. We are not meant to be a people that blindly follow. Yes faith is following the unknown, but more than that it is having a personal knowledge and commitment behind your following.
When everything is said and done, at the end of the day when you lay down to bed it is just you and that person in your head. I think getting to know that person is an ongoing project and it should be a goal for everyone: To be confident and trust their true self. 

Don't be just another member of the crowd. Find out what makes you unique and different and then love those imperfections. Define who you are, and work everyday to become who you want to be.