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Calista Patterson
Professor C
English 1C
11 July 2019
How we Come to Know Ourselves
Know yourself. A simple statement that has been pondered by philosophers, and even
individuals alike; ever since Socrates first brought this notion to light, but what does it truly
mean? I can attest to what it is not, finding out oneself, is not something that can be brought
upon by any person, outside objects, or actions. There is nothing that is outside of yourself that
can be the key or protector of what already lies within you. For those who truly seek wisdom,
they must first come to terms with who they really are before being able to attain enlightenment
or wisdom from the real world. How we are able to truly know thyself is by getting to know the
raw parts of one’s self, embracing one’s own spirituality, and following one’s own passions.
To begin with, when trying to find yourself, you must dig deep and pull out the roots of
your emotions. Only then will you realize that everything you ever needed was located within.
All of the power we wish to seek in the world has lied within each and every one of us. Hidden
and suppressed deep down, waiting to be unburied. Those of us who have been able to unlock
who they really are did not have the easiest journey to self-fulfillment. They fought the idea of
what society told them to be, and those who made sure they played the part. They encountered
countless battles with their own emotions, some were victories and many others were not. They
had no choice but to face their inner demons and insecurities, a battle often painful to win. It is
crucial for us to become familiar with our pain in order to dissolve it. This may sound more
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unpleasant than peaceful, but this is the key to finding out who we are “Otherwise, why would
we watch movies that make us shriek with fear, weep with sorrow, or rise up in anger against
injustice? The fact is, those feelings are part of life’s richness and beauty” (Beck 24). In simpler
terms, allow yourself to be who you really are. It takes non stop self-reflection in order to gain
this wisdom about ourselves. If any of you are like me, this practice is very much involuntary
and starts to seep itself through the cracks of our inner core. On the other hand, this can also be a
grave sign of internal power. Trying to be okay with the things that you cannot change, like a
traumatic past; learning to grow from it and accept that it can no longer have a hold on the
person you are today. Coming to the realization that getting to know yourself will always hold a
higher importance to you than to somebody else. Many people wont ever understand; simply
because their egos will not let them. Ego is one of the main if not the main threat to
self-acceptance; it is the hateful, evil, and vile offender in the story of finding out who you are.
We are our own worst enemies because “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny
matters compared to what lies within us” (Emer...
