What parts of our personality exist to feel seen? Today I saw a video on killing that part of us that served as protection when we were children, yet no longer resonates with our present. For me, that part was paranoid (petrified of being discovered). To cover up my sexuality I used masks, get perfect grades, debate club, president of the student club, sing for others, please others, massage others, make others laugh, make others respect me through academic achievements, respect authority, entertain. Once I came out, it felt like the death of that old self and it has taken everything to rediscover myself, I still am. Turns out, your passions, your dreams, your fears, they all change. They all evolve. Only the purest parts of your personality, those that exist with or without others, are the ones that persist. And there, I’ve found, lies our true essence: through change. Or perhaps there’s no such thing as “essence”, there’s just change.