Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth. Perhaps it's impossible to wear an identity without becoming what you pretend to be. --Orson Scott Card “We have measured the earth, the stars, and the depths of the seas; we have discovered riverbeds and mountains on the moon. We have built clever machines, and every day we discover something new ... But something, some most important thing, is missing, and we do not know exactly what. We feel bad because we know lots of unnecessary things but do not know the most important — ourselves.” --Leo Tolstoy Identity is huge. Descartes: "I doubt, therefor I think, therefor I am." Discovering the "I" is what we spend much of our life doing. Most of my 8th grade curriculum asks the essential question: Who am I? Investigating who we are helps us understand the people around us. As we become aware, we hopefully become more open, empathetic, and wise. It's interesting to see what we have in common with each other--and how we are different. Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I'm not living.
Prompt for free verse poem "Who am I?" |
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