Sometimes I think that people I see every day, at work or in bars, and people I randomly meet on the street or when I travel, even the 
people who know my name, not to mention my friends and relatives, have no idea who I really am. Even if you see me walking by or if our paths ever cross, you might never find out who I truly am. In fact, sometimes I wonder about it myself.
Who am I? And who are you?
What defines who we are? Is it our job? Our academic background? Our sex or our age? Is it our family? Our friends? Our hobbies? Our life philosophy? What about our passions? How about what gives meaning to our lives?
I guess I would usually tackle the challenging question of who I am with the following:
“My name is Mermaid. I work in the finance industry. I am married, I have a dog and I like travelling.”
So there you are. I have communicated all the vital information. But what do these three little sentences say about me?
Well, for starters, they let people know how they should call me if they would like me to respond. Also, they make the fact that I work to earn my living known, thus painting a picture of a person who is a productive part of society, it is educated, driven and probably able to understand how financial markets work. Also, by mentioning the fact that I have met a person who is willing to spend his entire life with me, comes to show that I am worth of someone’s love. Also, the fact that I have a living dog reveals that I am responsible enough to ensure the well-being of another creature of the animal kingdom. Lastly, mentioning that I like travelling shows that I might be open-minded and like to be introduced to new cultures and experiences and that most probably I can afford to travel often.
It all boils down to cold facts and useless information.
Your turn now.
How would you describe yourself in short to a complete stranger you’ve met for a split second while queuing at the snack bar of an overnight train?
Probably by something similar to the above.
Yet I would like to dream that for once I would cut out all the crap and simply say what’s in my heart.
“Hi. My name is Mermaid. I am a SCUBA diver and this is my surface time!”
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