We are not who
they say we are.
We are not who
they think we are.
Who do they think
they are?
They who say
what they think
without
understanding.
Without
seeking.
Without
seeing.
Without looking
or asking
or questioning
themselves.
We are who
we are
whether we say
what we are.
Or whether they
say what they think
we are.
Whatever they think.
We are.
I wrote this poem as a journal entry in late 2019, as part of my renewed desire to explore writing, and my identity, or that aspect of my identity that has to do with writing. I continue to explore who I think I am and hope, through my writing, to uncover the truth of who I am.
Even so, I cannot escape the truth that who others think I am, and who I think others think I am, also affects my identity. In that sense our identities shape, form, and are influenced by our many interactions. Too often, however, I have found that I do not pause to reflect on who I am — the essence of myself, my “me-ness” — unencumbered by the influences of others.
I set that journal entry aside, but a couple of years later the idea of identity resurfaced when I came across the quote below in a book by Jay Shetty (Think Like A Monk), and I think it more succinctly captures what I think I was trying to say in 2019.
“We are not who we think we are.
Michael A. Greco
We are not who they think we are.
We are who we think they think we are.”
Quote rediscovered via a post on Medium by a self-described “Tech and Gaming Enthusiast” named Utkarsh Gaikwad. Thanks, Utkarsh!
Andy writes! 
Hello Andy.
Hey, hosanna, I’m able to open your blog on my S&T laptop now.
Happy in the 417,
Mdel
Glad you are able to access this!
Your poem makes me think “An open mind thinks it’s closed and a closed mind thinks it’s open.” The Michael A. Greco poem reminds me of a time when I was sittnig woth my first ex wife at an outdoor cafe, and some frinds sat at the next table. I found I coudn’t be the same person my wie thought I was at the same time I was being who my friends thought I was. It was a strange, unexpected incident that made me take a look at myself and change. Now I’m the same person for everyone.