“Who are you?”

In elementary school I was a wide eyed, goofy kid, full of hopes and dreams like becoming an actress, buying a horse, singing on American Idol and going to Hogwarts for school. Most of my time was spent playing with friends and looking forward to school so I could talk, laugh and learn all day. My elementary school self was simple and silly; I gathered only a few pieces to my puzzle.

In middle school I was a sporty, social person who was busy every day and night with soccer, swimming, biking to my friends’ houses and dreaming of Paris. I spent all of my time looking forward to the future that I forgot to live in the present from time to time. My middle school self was filled with energy and passion, always striving to find more pieces for my puzzle.

When I got to high school I wanted to strengthen my middle school self, but my life and identity changed dramatically. I was recovering from surgeries, moving between houses, trying to fit in, finding new friends, stressing about five point quizzes and worrying about every little thing. I was no longer sporty and super social, instead, my high school self was injured and lonely. During those first years of high school, it felt as though my puzzle was falling apart.

Now, as a senior, I have reinvented myself. I am an artist, obsessed with photography, planning road trips every month, going to concerts with my friends and happy with who I have become. Not only am I all these things, but I am still that wide eyed, goofy elementary kid, the sporty, social middle schooler and the injured, confused high schooler. I am the sum of all of my moments from beginning until now. I have collected and cherished every piece of life that I have been given but I still don’t feel whole. I still don’t know who I really am. In reality, nobody really knows exactly who they are.

Life is a slow journey that is always changing and putting obstacles in the path of finding out who you really are. We gather little pieces of ourselves every step of the way and until we collect enough pieces, there is no guarantee of feeling whole. So who are you? Who am I? I am still collecting pieces to the puzzle of who Maddy truly is.