Jamie's Speakers Corner

The inspiration for today's blog post comes from an A2 philosophy lesson last year. Not only is it a very interesting topic, I felt it was an apt way to introduce myself and welcome you to my speakers corner!
When faced with the question 'Who are you?', it is natural reaction to come back with your name. It is, after all, 'who you are'. We got given a rather interesting homework. We had to ask people, 'Who are you'. Being open to new ideas and meeting new people, I threw myself entirely into the homework task, asking people I knew and people I didn't, who they were. Interestingly enough, they all responded with their name. All except the last person. The last person was the person who helped me understand what the homework task had been set for and also left me considering the question in terms of myself.
He was a teacher and he responded with, 'Well, how long have you got.' He went on to tell me his hobbies and interests, what he had done with his life and things he regarded as pivot points for him as a person. In the end, despite not knowing my teachers first name, I knew him better than ay of the other people I had asked.
This led me to consider the way that we identify ourselves and the difficulty we face when faced with the challenge of explaining who we are. Are we just a body? Or is there much more to us than that? Essentially, this seemingly easy question, left me debating what made up a person and even the debate between monism and dualism.
Today I was asked the question, 'Do you think you know who you are?'. My simple answer was no. I know what makes me tick and my hobbies and interests but I don't think I know 'who I am' yet. I am just about to go off to university where my life will completely change, I will meet new people and they will, inevitably, have an impact on my life. This means, to me, that whether I recognise it or not, 'who I am' is constantly changing and will continue to change throughout my life. I could guess how I would act in a certain situation but until I have been in that situation, I don't think even I know how I would truly respond. We all like to think we would do the noble and brave thing, but sometimes that just isn't realistic. If you would have told me two years ago I was going to take a history degree, I would have laughed in your face. People are constantly changing and adapting to the situation around them which consequently has an impact upon who they are as people.
I think it's okay to not know who you are. I think not knowing who you are leaves you more open to trying new things and meeting new people.
But, leaving you with that doesn't get you any closer to knowing me than knowing my name is Jamie, so here is who I think I am today.
I'm an 18 year old girl about to go to university to study History (my favourite part of history at the moment is the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era) and I can recite all the Kings and Queens in order. I am a huge lover of drama and literature, with my favourite book (at the moment) being Animal Farm by Orwell. I don't really like to settle and get bored easily so I am a lover of travelling. I like to sing in the shower and buy pretty clothes (mainly that make me look as if I have just stepped out of the 70s). Despite being obsessively organised with my work, I am a huge lover for spontaneous outings and experiencing new places. I like to bake but I never leave the cake long enough to cool before having a nibble of it. I'm a lover of politics and engaging in debate and, although I don't like being wrong, I work well with constructive criticism. I decided to start a blog to pose these questions to my reader and be able to read and learn from their responses.
So, take from that what you will. I hope you now feel like you know me a little bit better and I hope you enjoy my blog!

One last thing: Who are you?

Jamie Lee

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet." - Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare)

Friday 11 September 2015

Who are you?