Just do you........what does that even mean?

 With utmost sincerity she looks him in the eyes and says:

''Just do you. Just be you.''

''Yeah, but what if you don't know who you really are? he says to himself.

He looks at his face in the mirror and it seems to him as

if the contours of his face are blurring.

What does just do you really mean?

Does it mean being indifferent to how others may perceive

me?

Does it mean doing what is right for me even if that causes

distress or concerns for others?

Or does it perhaps mean being genuine?

But, and this is a big but for me, does not who we are

vary depending on circumstances/situations, emotional states,

and previous experiences(memories)?

Some say that the self consists of three different domains:

the experiential self (memories), the ''narrator self/the interpreter'',

and the public self/persona.

Having said that, although we tend to experience the self as a 

sense of continuity and unity, most of us have probably experienced

times when we have felt conflicted, confused or uncertain about

who we really are.

(''That's not like me!! I'm not usually this emotional, I don't

know what got into me, etc. etc.'')

We may feel as if there is one solid ''me/self'' but according

to those in the know, to be a human is to experience a 

multiplicity of self-states.

Perhaps we think of the self as a ''thing'', as in that what we feel 

and think is always the same, but were we to recollect past

patterns of behaviour I have a feeling we would find

inconsistencies in those behaviour patterns.

Why? Because situations/circumstances matter.

Who we are with and where we are influence our sense of

self. 

''When I'm with my family I feel that I can be myself,

when I'm with people I don't really know I feel a bit

self-conscious, spending time doing my own thing I feel

selfish, etc. etc.''

 How we experience the self is often very influenced by

how we believe others see us.

Basically, our concept of who we are is shaped not only by

ourselves but also by others.

Unfortunately, sometimes our own opinions of who we are

can become blurred and skewed by too much reliance

on others opinions.

The advent of social media which allows us to share content

with others, have made it possible for us to create ''fictitious''

selves. 

You don't have to do you, you can do the you you

would like to be.

Although the long-term psychological impact social media has 

and or will have on individuals may still be somewhat uncertain,

we do know some things.

We know that our lives are and have been digitized and

become tied up in metrics and algorithms. 

Our ''real'' selves have been split into online ''avatars'',

 profile images(fake or real) and status updates(fake or real).

Connected as we are, in my view, what we have ignorantly unleashed

is a growing number of complex psychological issues

that has changed our collective sense of reality. 

Is it even possible to be ''real'' if you don't have any content about

yourself on the internet, don't own an i-Thingy or any

other tech-thing?

Have we been swept up so far into the virtual world

that we have lost all sense of the ''real'' us, the ''real'' world,

and taking the time to make ''real'' connections with ''real''

family, friends and strangers?

Stepping away from the virtual world and its rewards,

how can one become a more ''real/genuine'' person?

''Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom,'' so

said Aristotle.

Perhaps, 

I am today not what I was yesterday, 

nor what I will be tomorrow,

who I am,

 is still,

to be decided.

(Citizen Z)

In my view,

You do have to continue, as you grow as a human,

to ask yourself the question: who am I, and is it who I want to be?

about the image: graphite on paper