They wonder: Who will I be when I grow up?
They wonder: Who am I now?
They wonder: Should I try to be like everyone else?
They wonder: If I am different, is there something wrong with me?
Each time they ask, they speak in different ways.
Each time they ask, they use different words.
Each time they ask, they are feeling many different emotions.
Yet no matter how they choose to ask it, the core question remains:
Who shall I be?
And when they come to me, the very first words that come to my heart are the words of someone else. They are simple, those words. But they are powerful. And they have stuck with me from the very first time I read them, many years ago.
So when my kiddos come to me and ask some variation of:
Who shall I be?
I always start with:
Be who you are...
