Yellow Leather Dress

I need identity.
I lose it from time to time.
I see what I thought was me on the faces of others, in the fashions of others, in the haircuts of others.
And I struggle.
I struggle because I want things to define me. I want to be complimented - I want to be noticed - I want to be accomplished.
And then I realize how silly it is to want things to define me, when it is much more pleasurable for me to define things. I want to know myself, know my truth, and know that no one can take my guts away from me. I want to be complimented for my efforts, for my knowledge, for my intellect - not for my hairstyle. I want to be noticed for my academic achievement, my writings, my love for others - not my clothes. I want to be accomplished in treating others the way I want to be treated, and then some...

Because these things, these truths are inevitable and they will never fail me.

And that, my friends, is real. That is my identity.