Who Do I Want to Be?

This past weekend, as I was recovering from the removal of my wisdom teeth, I spent a large portion of my time in front of the television, as might be expected. Now, I particularly enjoy watching spy, secret agent, and crime television shows. As I was watching these types of shows this weekend, I noticed something. In almost every single show, the characters all seem to lead multiple lives. There are lies, secrets, double lives, etc. and the main characters are constantly having to essentially change who they are, based on where they are and who they are with.

As I reflected on this, I came to realize that this is what often happens in reality as well. Although most of us are probably not leaving double lives as secret agents, we do tend to compartmentalize ourselves based on where we are and who we are with. We end up with our home lives, our work lives, our school lives, our social lives, and our church lives. Now it seems obvious that we should be the same person everywhere, as we still have our personalities and we are who we are, but I think that this is not often the case.

I ask myself: Who am I? and hundreds of different words pop into my head. Student, athlete, musician, employee, graduate, sister, daughter, friend, best friend, acquaintance, member, leader, teacher, granddaughter, and the list could go on. The one thing that I found in common with all of these roles, is that they depend on where I am at and who I am with and I found myself asking: is there anything in me that is constant? Anything that permeates throughout my entire life, no matter where I am at?

I decided that this depends on me. This depends on who I want to be and who I want to be known as. President Thomas S Monson, head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, has said, "Be the same person you are in the dark as you are in the light." This quote is all about choice. It is about us choosing who we want to be and what we want others to see in us. So I ask myself, who do I want to be?

For me, this question is simple. I want people to see that I know I am a daughter of a loving Heavenly Father. I want them to see that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and that I know for a surety it is true. I want others to see my faith in the way that I live and the way that I act, regardless of where I am and who I am with.

So I have made my choice, to let my faith permeate through all of the many roles that I have to fill, to let it be a part of me regardless of the situation. I have chosen who I want to be.