How much are we shaped by the people we know?

What makes you ‘you’? And more importantly, who makes you ‘you’? How much of your life is shaped by people? What might you choose to explore if circumstances were changed?

In the millisecond prior to you leaving whatever you were created in and entering ‘the Universe’, who are you? Without a name, true age or the influences of others do you have a personality?

What about who you are right now? If you hadn’t viewed life the way you have over time – because of the style in which those who surround you had pictured it (including people you may prefer not to know) – would you still be you?

Our experiences, intimate or distant, impact how we perceive our lives. The way we paint the world around us has an impact on our experiences, too.

Right now it’s the summer holidays (at least, it is for me). I haven’t seen a friend or close acquaintance for just over a week. As a result I feel like I’ve been uncovering lots about myself. Without the people I would experience consistently, my influences have changed. I’m still not sure if this is for better or for worse.

“Time spent thinking and doing things alone has made me wonder how much we’re made up of the pieces of everyone else.”

Sometimes I get this wild urge to drop all current connections and become someone new. Obviously, I can’t. But being away from my peers has given me space to consider what it could mean to explore life’s potential in perhaps more ways than I’ve allowed myself before, because it’s so easy for your thoughts to get shaped by your surroundings. Your surroundings? I mean people.

At life’s buffet, you can choose to fill your plate with one of the meals or a tiny bit of everything. Trying a piece of everything is exciting, and if no-one is hurt then I think nobody should be judged for that.

This is all just my personal philosophy! Because of what you have experienced, you might think this is a load of profound nonsense. Still, we are all being shaped by the world. Let us choose our worlds wisely…