Identity crisis is feeling almost a complete loss of one's self, facing a dilemma as to who you are or feeling lost as to your role in the world and the society. One tries to alter themselves, their behaviour, the way they dress, the food they eat, the songs they listen to and the people they interact with only in order to ‘fit in’. This occurs frequently among adolescents between the ages of 12 to 18.
As young children, we are extremely sure of ourselves, confident and somewhat strong-headed about our decisions. Although children are easily influenced by the activities of their peers, they perform activities which they enjoy doing and what they find interesting. As children, we do not feel the need to fit in and do not think much about the opinions of others. “Oh, what will they think?” or “Oh, I am the only one who has not seen this show!” are thoughts that almost never cross their mind. But as we grow, these thoughts occur more often than not flocking through our minds. One always wants to fit in with the crowd so as not to feel ‘left out’ or ‘singled out’. In the process of doing so, day by day we are losing our own identity as we gravitate from ours towards someone else’s. Suddenly one day when we reflect upon ourselves we do not know who we really are, what our genuine interests are and deep down, who is it that the person we are?
While “identity crisis” does seem to have a rather negative ring to it, it need not be so. One may use it as an opportunity of self-discovery to become a better version of themselves. One can always strive to be better than themselves by taking inspiration from the people they admire while still being firmly rooted in their values, character and individuality. Our identity is what represents us; it is an amalgamation of our values, experiences, relationships and impressions.
Let's explore the world in ourselves, dive deep into the vast oceans of our interests, conquer the highest peaks and root the flag of individuality and soar as high as we can to strive to be the best version of who we are.
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