1999 School Magazine

and marked chancieristics". The very fact that each and every one of the billions of people who populate this earth is unique, excepting of course identical siblings, indicates very clearly lust how complex a human being really is. For every one of us to be marked Iy different, there must be many, countless facets to our personalities and emotional makeup This being true, then, is it really conceivable that anyone ever iruly knows what they are? I Ihink not We, as humans, are intelligent and we have made many astounding developments and discoveries, but to 90 so far as 10 propose that we con understand what exactly we are is, 10 me, a rather conceited and farfetched assumption Even when contemplating what we are on a molecular level, it is simple 10 see lust how complex a human being is. For we are all made up of millions and millions of genes, with each of these genes coding for a different attribute or characteristic. Although not all of these genes correspond to some facet of our personality, obviously a large proportion o1 them do. Even if we were ever 10 identify and "decode" every one of these personality defining genes, this would not be sufficient to enable us to conclusive Iy know what, or who, we are, as our environment, 100, plays an enormous role in determining the person that we I do not, for one minute, propose 10 deny that I believe there are many people who have a good feeling" for who they are, and who know whoi it is they want out of their life, but I find 11 very difficult indeed 10 believe that any individual could ever understand completely what they are Having said this, then, if follows that if we do not "know what we are" we cannot possibly hope 10 "know what we may be". Presumably all o1 us dream of what it is we would like to be, but what we should like 10 be is certainly far removed from what we actually shall be, for most people. Of course, there are always those special people who, seemingly from the very beginning, know exactly who and what it is they want 10 be, and they are able 10 become this person. For the large majority of us however, we must simply face the fact that life does not always eventuale in the way we would entirely like it to. Fate or luck, or whatever one may choose 10 call it, plays a large role in the outcome of our futures. This is no reason to slop dreaming and setting ourselves goals, though, for it is by constanily trying 10 improve ourselves that we come closer and closer to the person we would most like to be Our dreams are what keep us living each day with all the passion we can muster, and with all the energy we have available. Without our dreams we may be living, but we may not really be alive Most of us, it would seem, spend a great deal more time dreaming of what we want for ourselves in the future than we do in considering what it is we are now. Perhaps this is because it is much more exciting and satisfying 10 plan bigger and better things for ourselves than to stoop and deliberate over the intricate and complex individual we are already Perhaps, too, we are in fact protected from ourselves by not knowing ourselves, and each other, terribly well. 11 we were completely aware of exactly what we ore, would we then be able 10 see all 100 clearly the darker side of our own natures, and the darker side of mankind as a whole? Thus, is it conceivable that we are indeed fortunate to never know entirely what we are, but 10 be given the opportunity 10 instead envisage what we may one day be? Man is an incredibly diverse and complicated species, and it would be phenomenal indeed if we were ever able 10 comprehend, even slightly, the miracle of life and the wonder meni of what we are. And Yet, although we may never sufficiently know what we are, we should never stop dreaming that one day we will be the finest person that we can possibly be Perhaps, with this in mind then, instead of speaking the words, "We know what we are, but know not what we may be". Ophelia might instead have concluded that, "We know not what we are, and can only dream of what we may be. " ore

Do we really know what we are? "We know what we are, but know not what we may be" There are really Mo scenarios 10 ponder when one is presented with the Shakes pearean quotation : "We know what we are, but know not what we may be" Firslly, one must consider "we" to be referring 10 "we" as a species, and secondly in the contexi of man as an individual. Either way, the questions of who and what we are is a very difficult and somewhat confusing one 10 answer Since the very dawn of lime, man has struggled 10 come to terms with what exactly we, mankind, really are. Are we merely a mass of cells governed by the brain, or do we have some indefinable substance, or soul, which can neither be located nor studied, but plays a large role in making us all unique individuals, and indeed, what we ale? When considering "we" as pertaining 10 the entire human race, one must look, objective Iy, at the identity o1 man as a species Questions such as, "Are we truly the superior species?". "What exactly is it that makes us humane", and "What are our origins and how did we come to be what we Glee" should all be raised and contemplated. They ore certainly not simple questions to answer. 11 is modernday science which actually proves 10 be very effective and convenient when considering the species Homosapiens as a whole, for it gives us a method of classifying, impartial Iy, what is unique and characteristic about the human race. We can, thus, 10 some extent, understand what we, mankind, are When one considers "we" in terms o1 mankind as individuals the questions become decidedly more complex. For now one must delve into the convoluied depths of the human condition, and instead of relying on science and technology 10 resolve our questions, we must consider the emotions, qualities and beliefs which make every one of us what we are. 11 is these emotions, qualities and beliefs that make us distinct and unique. 11 is these things which make us individuals. The Macquarie Dictionary defines an individual as one who is "a disiinci, indivisible entity; a single thing" and as one who is, "distinguished by peculiar

Anna Palmer

Winner of Belly Woolcock Challenge Cup, I 998

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