Who are you – really?

“You are the Hero of your own Story.” ― Joseph Campbell.

“If you are not the hero of your own story, then you're missing the whole point of your humanity.” - Steve Maraboli.

“You are the Hero of your own story, but if you don’t understand that others are the heroes of their own stories, you’re not human” - Lavanya Sridharan

I can hear you think, “Now you’ve taken to quoting yourself? Who do you think you are?” That my friends, is the exact question I was asking myself when I got lost on a trail of pondering which inspired me to write this article.

We all think we’re the center of the universe and that the world revolves around us. When someone misunderstands us or judges us, we tend to get affronted. Yes, no one knows what battles you face every day and its wrong of the society to judge you, but unfortunately my friends, we live in a judgmental world. How do we cope then, when someone’s perception of us is not how we see ourselves?

Quite recently, I got into a long argument with my parents which as usual broached the topic of how unfair the world is and how everything in our society is wrong. My mother, as always said, “No, we’re not mistreating you. Yes, this world is unfair, but no, you can’t shun society and live in a forest.”

My dad, a usually patient man, said, “Firstly, you’re a kid. Secondly, you don’t make any sense. Thirdly, go sleep.”

I thought I was a smart and profound tragic hero/heroine, bearing the weight of the world on my shoulders and my happy (albeit imaginary) ending consisted of a certain academy award winning actor (real life hero too, I must add) swooping in and declaring everlasting love for me. Yet my parents probably think of me as the Donkey from Shrek, or one of those minions from Despicable Me. When I turn to my friends, they reassure me saying, “Don’t worry babe, we think you’re profound.” And my neighbours probably think I’m a weirdo.

Ultimately, here is what I think. You are your choices. You are your actions. If you stand up for what you believe in, if you live your life by principles, if you respect that everyone has the right to have opinions and the right to live their life the way they want, if you understand that everyone is different but equal, you my friend are a hero. Your battles are courageous and your story is beautiful.

If you’re a bully or if would rather clutch to racism and sexism rather than educate yourself on things that matter, you might think of yourself as a hero or even a villain. But you’re not. However if  you work on something called character development using good thoughts and good deeds to help you, now that’s a story worth living and worth telling.