"Peel back all of the laughter and smiling
Let your emotions have the day off
So you can see what's underneath it all
Take away the people, the ones you depend on
Remove your successes and the empires you've built
Swallow your pride and tear down the walls
And reality will unfold and the truth is told
When no one is watching
It's just you and the wind
When the masquerades are over
Who are you then
Take a look inside your heart
Cause whatever remains is
Who you really are"
~Ronnie Freeman
"Who are you" can be a scary question, because a lot of people don't know who they are, and a good few of them use the wrong measurement to determine who they are. To increase who they think they are, or avoid thinking about who they are, people will:
Do anything to advance their careers;
Do anything to fill every waking moment with entertainment;
Do anything to find a spouse to give them some identity;
Pickle themselves in alcohol or drugs to chase the question away;
Or sometimes even kill themselves when they realize they have no idea who they are or why they should be here. No I'm not being facetious.
As the song says, when you take away what you have done, who you know, all the social trappings and achievements... what remains is who you are.
So who are you?