Who Am I?

Riley Draper

AP English

7/25/2013

            In Sophie’s World, Sophie receives a letter that asks the questions “Who are you?” and “Where does the world come from?”  Initially, Sophie didn’t really know where to begin with her response and I found myself in the same situation.  I would have to say if I were asked by a stranger “Who are you?”, I would start with the basics of my name and age.  I am Riley Draper, and I am sixteen years old.  That would be the most basic answer.  Obviously, there is much more to this question that the inquirer wants to know. 

            To go a little further, I live in a family of four.  I’m a student and a football player at North High School.  To be honest, only being sixteen years old doesn’t give me a lot of experience on things.  I don’t know a lot about life, yet I think do know a lot about certain aspects of it.  What I know is relative to my age I guess. There is no wrong or correct way to answer this question and I think no one truly knows one hundred percent who exactly they are. I think all my past experiences have shaped me to be who I am today. Whether it be football or something school related, I think I have been challenged mentally and physically multiple times throughout my life and I think that has influenced me to be the person I am right now. What does all of this mean?  It means that even at sixteen, I’m a confident person in some ways and that in others I am still inexperienced and unsure of my abilities.

            The other question, “Where does the world come from?” is also something I am unsure about. There are generally two ways that I see people answer this question. The more scientific answer that the world was created from an explosion, or “big bang”, and the religious answer that states that God created this world. Much like the question “Who are you?” there is no definite answer. I personally believe that God created this world mainly because my family raised me that way. At the same time, I cannot fully be sure that God created this world or where God comes from in the first place. There will most likely never be a proven answer to this question but it is a very mysterious subject.

            You could spend countless hours trying to answer both of these questions and you still would not be able to find an undoubtedly correct answer. I am satisfied with what I know right now and I am just grateful to be given the opportunities I have been.