Sevion DaCosta

Walking down the stairs I was stopped by a student. Oh my gosh, Sevion what are you doing? I responded with a confused look on my face. Hey what’s up, what are your talking about?  To that he responded with an answer of surety. “Put your glasses back on, you look weird without them!”

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Everyone had become so accustomed to seeing me wear my glasses and as they broke when I visited Queens the weekend before I was wearing my contacts. However, this small comment had me thinking about self identity.  I had never given much thought to how much of a part my glasses played into my self image. In that brief moment, someone who had seen me numerous times with them on, brought forth an idea to me that I was running away from my own identity.

In life, you should never try to hide who you truly are. You should always remain true to yourself, no matter the opinion of others.  Always look for opportunities of self betterment, ensuring that in this process, you are remaining true to yourself.

As Ernest Hemingway once said: True nobility is not being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your previous self.