A Thunk is a beguilingly simple-looking question about everyday things that stops you in your tracks and helps you start to look at the world in a whole new light. © Ian Gilbert.
Thunk 28:
Are you the same person you were ten years ago?
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94 comments:
Well actually it depends on the way you look at it ...
Appearance wise, you can’t really say that you’ve changed, it’s technically that you’ve matured rather than changed, considering some of your features still remain the same.
And Personality wise, frankly I doubt people change, or can truly change for the matter of fact. They may say they have, only because they chose to believe that they’ve changed, when really their still the same person inside no matter what people/they say. But that’s just my opinion... I may be wrong.
All in all to conclude, I say yes, in some way you are still who you were ten years ago, with just a few minor alterations.
I think that ten years is a very long time to change someone. Physically, you sensce, and personality wise, you tend to mature again, having been more exposed to the world. But to the most part, I would agree with Shennin and say that everyone has a set personality and hereditary code that tends to vary, but not change entirely. Most of it will only be a physical, mental and emotional change in maturity levels. But then again, that can be considered "change". So in conclution - It depends on how you look at it.
As Shennin and Leah have already said, it depends on what kind of change. Ten years ago I was only 7 years old and I have obviously grown and become more wiser now then I was when I was only a child.
Yes it's still the same Eliqa, only grown up (physically and mentally)
In my opinion, yes, I have changed in the last 10 years. I have went through different obstacles and experiences. I think we change everyday without even realising it. We learn something new and sometimes that would effect the way we see things.
Take for example, ten years ago I would always tell people to stop smoking, but now I don't mind it anymore, because I learned that people have choices.
So no I am not the same person i was 10 years ago.
Wordweb brings... Wow. No that can wait. I just had a conversation with my sister, over how she couldn't sleep because she was scared after watching Paranormal Activity 2. She's 20 -_-'
So I'll have to modify what I was going to say: I have changed as a person in the last 10 years, others havent. Wordweb links you to human being from person. Human Being: Any living or extinct member of the family Hominidae characterized by superior intelligence, articulate speech, and erect carriage.
I think the first 2 points are the most important. I have definately become more intellectual and of course after 10 years of various obstacles in life everyone should have grown in some form intellectually. And indefinately, my speech has become more articulate. Other than that, it's obvious that I have changed physically, mentally and even emotionally.
I AM a different person than I was 10 years ago. I cannot speak for others.
Not at all! My entire perception of life has changed in the past 3 years, so it has changed a great deal in the last 10 years for sure. The way i look, the way i act, the way i think has definately changed as ive grown older.
I am still Batul, the daughter of my mother and father. But besides those few facts,I believe everything else about me has changed in one way or another.
Answering the question, I am most definitely not the same person I was ten years ago, or even one year ago.
We all become ghosts of ouselves over time.We may look similar to the people in those old pictures, we may bear the same grin, but really we're different people entirely, refined by our experiences and our knowledge.
People change, but more importantly, it is their view of life, their paradigms and their perceptions that change.
It depends on the way you look at it. I would say no, though. I'm not the same person I was 10 years ago, I'm not even the same person I was 5 years ago.
If you mean it in the sense that you would have changed physically, then you wouldn't be the same person. You would have aged or done something with your appearance so you would look different.
A person's personality and habits could also change drastically in a matter of ten years.
No matter how much you claim to be the 'same' person you were, surely you'd have learnt a few new things in life in a matter of ten years and these little things can affect a person's personality or habits even in the smallest of ways.
For example, five years ago I used to eat meat. I LOVED meat but then I came across something that made me change my mind and decide to stop eating it and stick to a seafood and vegetable diet. This doesn't mean I've matured, it means that my views in a certain aspect changed.
I don't think people just 'mature' and not change at all. It may be the case for some people but I think that the majority of us change rather than mature.
I would have to say 'No'.
I feel that I am not the same person I was 10 years ago. I'm not even the same person I was 2 years ago.
Through certain circumstances and situations in life, you tend to change who you are, no matter how much you'd love to stay the same person you were, when life strikes, it can either change you for the better or for the worse, even if it's within a second.
In all ways possible, i believe that I have become a completely different person than I was 10 years ago when I was 7 years old. I have matured in many ways. I now realize the importance of making choices, and that they will affect me and everyone else around me, whereas 10 years ago I wouldn't take to consideration what would happen if I were to do "x", "y" and "z".
Therefore, no, I do not consider myself the same person I was 10 years ago, as much as I'd like to still have SOME of who I used to be, there comes a time when one must grow up, and let go.
I am definitely not the person who I used to be 10 years ago. Well, I was only 6 then.
Personally, I think we as individuals, we are fragile and subject to change from time to time. Factors such as environment we live in, people that we hang out with,problems we go through,all definitely have and will impact on our thinking and personality.
Furthermore,as we're constantly in the process of growing up,we gain so much of knowledge and experiences that will alter us. I doubt if I will even be the same in another 10 years. I may not change completely, but I won't stay entirely the same either.
Although our basic morals remain beneath all the skin, we're in gradual modification as time passes.
For my part, I know i've changed a lot in the past 10 years and i can, in no doubt, claim that i am a totally different person that i was 10 years ago. And i know that i will persist to change even more.
Doesn't matter how old we are, There are always new lessons in life to be learnt and continue to add on to our personality.
I believe that everyone changes, some changes are just too slow, that they easily escape our awareness, but no one stays exactly the same. Some people may be so altered within 10 years that they become unrecognizable and on the other hand some of us end up being somewhat the same. But whether we like it or not, Change happens.
In spite of the fact that I'm STILL the same human being, i believe there are changes that took place.
When i was four, the way I thought and approached situations was completely different. The level of maturity was way less. The choices I would have opted for back then are definitely not going to be the same ones I'd prefer now.
I had blue eyes when I was a child but now they somehow turned brown. My hair-colour was slighty lighter. I was a chubby lil kid. They used to call me short but i grew up to be an average height girl.
Yes they are minor changes, but they are still CHANGES. Slender or not, they are changes that happaned.
Hmm, I would have to agree with everyone's opinion when it comes to the physical aspect.
Physically, I'm still the same person, my features are the same, though they may have aged or matured in the past ten years.
I have a few misanthropic views, and I believe that humans can't change just like that *snaps fingers*. It would take a HUGE circumstance to take place for a human being to truly change. As Shennin mentioned, we only say we have changed because we want to believe that we indeed have.
When we push aside thoughts of what we could be, we'd finally see what we truly are.
Personality-wise though, I do think I've changed.
Over the course of ten years, I've been exposed to countless environments and people, and have been shaped in different ways by each one.
And the HUGE circumstances I've spoken off? I've gone through many.
My opinions and perspective in life has changed, and so have my sense of style.
True, I have retained a lot of my traits from when I was 5, although as people say, "Being consistent is much harder than change."
The question was about me being the same person I was ten years ago.
To be honest, if my 5 year old self was here in front of me at the moment, she wouldn't recognize me at all, and we'd basically disagree on everything I used to believe in.
No, I am definitely not the same person I was 10 years ago except if you count my identity. Otherwise, my personality has changed, my appearance has changed and so has my thinking. Infact, when I look back at my pictures when I was around 6-7 years, I sometimes wonder if that person in the picture was really me.
Therefore, I do think that in most cases a person is not the same as he/she was 10 years ago.
Aisha Bashir
11g2
You know, I actually think it all depends on the life you live and the experiences you go through.
Usually, it's time that changes you, but I believe it's how you go through time that changes you.
For example, at the age of 20 if you still live with your mom, you're still going to have the same habits and the same reactions to solutions because of lack of variety in environment. However, at the age of 20, if you lived on your own and were independent, your habits and the way you handle situations would be different.
Ofcourse, you are the same person to an extent because no matter what happens through time, some people still have the same irritating habits and the same likes and dislikes as they did years ago.
Definitely not!
Ten years ago, I was completely different to what I am now. Experiences, acquaintances and knowledge all play a part in molding a person, and none of these influences ever stop working on you. You can be easily brainwashed into becoming a different person. It all depends on how much you expose yourself to external influences.
I don't believe that I am the same person I was 10 years ago. I don't think I look the same, physically nor do I have the same perspective on life.
I think as you progress in life, you tend to learn new things about yourself. Your views and opinions on several things may differ from time to time and this definitely counts as 'change.'
To conclude, personally, I don't think I'M the same person I was 10 years ago. I am pretty certain that my perspective on life has changed drastically since I was 5. (:
Me?
Not at all!
Ten years ago I was six years old, my hero was was Buttercup from The Powerpuff girls, and I wanted to drive a fire truck when I grew up. I never smiled, I thought too much, and I didn't live the childhood that I should have lived.
Ten years ago I wouldn't have realized any of that!
Physically and genetically, i'm still the same person of course, I always will be. But I feel the term "person" is defined around personality, mentality, and traits like that.
So as I said at the beginning, of course i'm not. :)
I very much agree that you are the same person that you were ten years ago.
Though different factors may have an influence on your personality, your morals thoughts and opinions are unique and generally have no change.
For example I've been living in Dubai for 11 months now. Since I've been here the way I speak is different and the way I portray myself is influenced by those around me. Though my opinions can change throughout the years they will always be based on the foundations of my childhood. For your childhood is the base of adulthood, whatever goes on then will always have an efect on what happens later.
Though very rarely you may find certain situations where the individual has experineced drastic change from childhood and it would seem almost impossible to bring the original person out.
Yet generally speaking I would say that most people are the same as they were 10 years ago.
Though unfortunately I can't at all remember what I was like because I was only 4. So I will just have to go by what my parents say I was.
well i dont think so cause you have more experience and maturity through the years....h your personality might change due to the circumstances of your lifestyle.
Yes you have changed a lot but your still really the same person throughout life but your personality and your physical appearance will change no doubt.
A decade ago, I was 5 years old, I believed in the tooth fairy, I wanted to grow up and be an angel, literally. I wanted to have wings. My role model was Cinderella.
10 years later, I am laughing at my past.
Knowledge,personality, physical and mental being, makes up a person. 10 years is a very long time for a person to grow and mature up. Time brings changes.
A month later you would probably know more things than you knew a month before. Equally, 10 years later you would know more things than you knew 10 years ago.
100% NO. I am a totally different person than I was ten years back. Both physically and mentally. If you look at pictures of me ten years ago and look at me now,I look like a totally different person all together.
To the mentally part, In the last five years I have changed my whole perspective on life and how I deal with daily challenges and decisions. I have learnt all about different cultures and beliefs. Imagine ten years ago then. I was only five years old. Still learing my right and wrongs in life.
Certainly not. 10 years is a massive amount of time, so your mentality and physical appearance is bound to change.
Now in ten years, I'll definitely still be Charlie(lets hope), but i doubt I'll be the same baby faced punk rocker who loves making fun of everyone. =D
In life, we experience numerous of events, some might be pleasant and some may be displeasing. But all these stages change our perspective on viewing an issue.
Even the environment we choose to live in can change our way of thinking and also our way of looking and how we look.
Till last year I've hated papaya and now it's all i eat. Till last month i hated Justin Bieber,and now i have the fever. I can't wait to see how I'll turn up in ten years from now. ^_^
Well, if its by the looks u have changed but not much than you might have changed by your personality, which is you have matured more than you were before. Adding to that, as you grow older you might develop new different interests and new likes and dislikes. But besides all of these, somwhere inside you are the same old you.
So basically, you have changed in a good orderly manner but you still are the same person inside you...
No, you're not. People’s opinions change on things everyday so they wouldn't be the same as they were 10 years ago.
Physically wise, you would have changed too. You're taller and you're features have matured.
Saying that, sometimes the person that you are can be based on the morals you hold and I think that in a way I'm still the same person I used to be as my values on a whole haven't changed but on a rounded note, no. Nobody's the same.
Answering the question I don’t think I am the same person I was 10 years ago. People change throughout their lives, they change for the better or the worse it all depends on what type of lifestyle they are living, who they hang with and so on, it all has a huge impact on their personality. As for their appearance there is no doubt that it will change dramatically. In conclusion I’m sure all of us have changed a bit or a lot and I think I have changed a lot.
Yes and no.
I think that some habits you you have child will stick and some othe parts of your personality will change. Something might have had an impact on your life that would make someone change their behaviour or the way they think.
Then here are mannerisms and the people you interact with.
Does anyone really know who they are?
Personally i think were a completely different person in 10 years time both mentally and physically. Socialisation is the process where we learn how to behave, were we get our beliefs and values from. Nobody is ever the same person as each day we learn something new, whether it’s from school or through past experiences, we learn from our mistakes so we don’t make them again. Socialisation is ongoing, no matter how old we are we still learn different and newer things each and every day. No person can be considered to be the same for these reasons
Definitely not, neither physically or mentally. 10 years ago I was a 7 year old kid obsessed with Pokemon and entering Year 1 for the first time. My whole perception of life has changed since then, now I have to think about the future. Through influence from and friends and the environment, I can confidently say that I am not the same person I was 10 years ago.
Not really!
Appearance: not at all.
For who I am: Ten years ago I used to be a kid who never got on with other people very well. I never used to fit in place, literally. I think I changed about the period ten years ago. I was five then, I had my little brother who changed my life completely! Lol, I'm getting too emotional!
Well then, I am actually not the me from ten years ago! :)
No, I'm not the same person I was ten years ago.
For starters, I was a four year old girl who walked around with a teddy bear in her hand...
I pretty much agree with everyone else; I believe that we've completely changed, physically and mentally.. and morally, we've evolved, too. 10 years is a LONG time, and the experiences we go through everyday affect they manner in which we see things, and I feel as if that changes the way we think, which changes our opinions about things.
Ten years is a long time to contemplate. In ten years, a person could encounter experiences that completely change their outlook on life, their goals and aspirations.
It's important to be able to see change not as simply as a person's DNA, because if we were to perceive it like that, then everyone would leave change unacknowledged.
People's experiences change them and shape their behaviour. For example, someone who has been a victim of domestic abuse during the ten years will definitely say that they are NOT the same person they were ten years ago. The unimaginably horrendous situations that they were subject to undoubtedly changed them.
Even in normal situations major changes happen. For example, as toddlers grow up, their bodies go through major changes because of their nature and nurture.
A girl at age 8 who thought the world was a perfect place, dreamed of becoming a princess and claimed her favourite colour was pink (just taking a typical scenario), may be a person who likes the colour dark blue at the age of 18 and wants to be a doctor.
Although the girl may not have changed a lot - her hair is still dark brown, her eyes still blue - even this 'minor' change does not imply in any way that she is the same person she was at 8 years old.
All in all, I believe we are not the same people we were 10 years ago.
Depends on what ‘person’ means? If it’s my physical body, no, because every single cell in my body has changed and grown and died. If it’s my emotional state, no, because emotions are never constant. If it’s my level maturity and comprehension, no, for they are ever increasing and also never constant. But something, something I can’t put my finger on, the id perhaps, remains constant. That’s why I’ll be Anush my entire life and nothing more. I think it’s that innate quality that makes a person. In many ways, our environment is a giant photocopying machine, making hundred of copies of us, each with a tiny variation. Even though it defies all logic, something remains constant and thats what a person is.
Appearance wise, I'm almost the same, leaving the out the weird haircut and facial hair...
However, mentally, it's fair to say I've changed completely. 10 years ago, I was this little innocent child, living in a bubble, oblivious of the real world out there. I was also an introvert. Moreover, at that time, the school environment I was surrounded by wasn't such that it would provoke me to be creative, or rather, I didn't have any opportunities to be. I was just seven, and no one really thinks about the real world at that age.
However, now, I'm focused, more adaptable, and I've definitely progressed on the creativity part. I'm able to get along with people much easily and I've understood how it all actually works in the practical world.
So yes, 10 years can change a lot of things about you; to be more precise, your personality and character.
I'll get straight to the point, no i am not the same person i was ten years ago.
I fail to see the logic in saying that my physical appearance has not changed but "matured". As my body matured , my physical appearance changed. I grew taller, (and at this point i will casually ignore all the short jokes that will be cracked), lost a large amount of baby fat and developed what i will refer to as "curves".
As for my personality , perhaps my base characteristics of being an introvert, lacking the ability to successfully express my emotions and my considerably bad temper , still prevail however, with time i have learnt to deal with them. in the last ten years i had all the time to discover who i am, where i want to be and what i want to be remembered for. i learnt a lot about the world and how it works and how things are not always as easy and beautiful as they seem to be. i learnt how to read people , the importance of choosing the right company and never being afraid to be who i am. all these has definitely changed the innocent 7 year old that i was.
i feel it is impossible for time to pass without some sort of change occurring in something or the other. I'm sure over 10 years, there would be a time where we change too.
I'm reminded of a quote after reading all the comments made before mine: change is the only constant in life.
People are constantly evolving, not just collectively as the human race, but individually, on a more microcosmic plane.
I know that, right now, according to my birth certificate, I'm still the same person (somewhat). But birth certificates don't really take into account what it takes to be human, to be maturing, or unfolding. My birth certificate doesn’t tell people who I am in a more holistic sense; It doesn’t tell you that I cried when I heard my baby brother first laugh, or how many mistakes I had to make before learning how to bake my first cake. It doesn’t show you how I smiled when my mother came to my first ever poetry reading.
Because I’m not simply a name and a birth date - identifiable by those things in the most simplistic custom, sure - but much more than that.
I know eight year old me would not recognize eighteen year old me instantly or instinctively (and perhaps, would even be frightened by me in many ways), so I’d have to disagree: I am no longer the person I was ten years ago.
"Well I’ve been afraid of changing cause I’ve built my life around you. But time makes you bolder even children get older, and I’m getting older too."
Those are the lyrics to one of my favourite songs, Landslide, by Fleetwood Mac, and I really think it captures what growing up means. Moving forward in time means that as you gain more experience, you become more confident, bolder, and more passionate. It means that you make and break relationships that could possibly have a huge impact on you. Lastly, the song refers to the fact that no one can escape the effects of time.
Ten years have passed since I was a six year old. While I may have grown physically and mentally, I still love maths, reading and music. It’s inevitable that things have changed since I was six years old, but I’m definitely still the same person as I was then.
To answer this question, one needs to consider what identity is: your name, your brain, and your face. My name remains unchanged, and my face still resembles that of my six-year-old self. My brain hasn’t changed either: I still associate my six-year-old memories with my own, and continue to add memories and experiences to it. While my brain is still developing, its also still my own. There is a very big difference between total change versus development. The word grow itself suggests development, not total change. In ten years, I have developed as a person, becoming more aware, passionate, and sure about what I want in life. I am still the same person that I was ten years ago.
By the age of 13, your eyes will have attained their full size.
Throughout your life, joy, anger, sadness, regret, dust, will fill your eyes with tears. All-nighters, for work or for play, will leave them bloodshot and strained. But when you're 80, and you look into the mirror, every part of you aged and balding - you see a teenager staring right back at you through your eyes, captured better than any photograph ever could.
The DNA that scripts my life is the same. But the product of that DNA, my body and mind, has aged and grown (albeit not by much). My temperament (as defined by psychologists - the innate personality) should technically be the same. But the product of that temperament, personality, has evolved.
And my eyes... though tired and world weary... are the same.
If nothing else, I'm still called Taher.
To me, this question doesn't require too much analysis. I'm only a little like I was ten years ago. I'm only a little like I was two years ago. But that doesn't make me a different person. I'm the same person. Just different.
This thunk is essentially asking me to compare the 6-year-old me, and the 16-year-old me. In some ways I still am the same person, but in many ways, I’m not.
I still am the same person because I still have the same name, date of birth, nationality and identity, my family still consists of the same people and I’m recognized as Ritam in my family, and I still wear glasses. I still am the same person because I still remember things from 10 years ago, and the things that have happened in these 10 years, from school, and my aunt’s wedding when I was 6 years old, to my trip to Turkey 3 years ago, to the lunch I ate a couple of hours ago.
On the contrary, I am not the same person because none of the cells in my body are the same (they have died and renewed many times), I look a lot different now than before, I no longer wear braces, I think very differently now than I did before, and I have different priorities.
A simple example would simply to ask my friend from the previous school I went to. It has only been 3 years since I left my old school, but they say that the difference between me now and then is immense! I too have mixed feelings about the way I have changed, for the most part, I’d still like to know that I was, am, and always will be the same person…Ritam Anand.
Biologically, all my organs have grown as I have grown. The amount of hormonal production varies from what it was ten years ago, back then, I had a few injuries which do not feel the same anymore, and they’re cured, so there goes one more difference. Mentally, I have evolved in a drastic manner, I know much more, I understand much more, I process much more and I deal with a lot more stress using my mental ability, than I would have or I did, ten years ago. Physically and appearance wise, I have obviously grown taller. My features grew too. My hair is much longer now, also a different colour. I even feel, I smile differently now. Emotionally, oh, I have changed. I feel more, I empathize more. Despite all changes, people still know me by the name I had ten years ago. I still know me by the name that was given to me not just ten but eighteen years ago. To everyone who knows me for over ten years, I am the same person, Akshita. But am I?
You know what they say, what’s in a name… to me, having the same identity, does not define me to be the same person. In my opinion and understanding of this thunk, I am not the same person I was ten years ago. I grew up, I changed. I’m glad I did. Everybody does.
Ten years ago, I was a 9 year old quiet girl who loved reading and hid behind her mother's leg when confronted by the presence of strangers.
Given that all of you know me, it's safe to say I am not that little girl anymore.
And, I'm glad.
I'm glad that I once was that little girl. I'm glad that I'm no longer that little girl. Because people change, this isn't just a quote we go around saying to sound philosophical, we say it because it's true.
I'm not the same person as I was 9 years ago because I no longer have "Dora the Explorer" inspired hair, dangly legs, baby teeth (well, except one) and tiny hands. I am no longer concerned about missing an episode of Zack And Cody. My problems aren't narrowed down to the choice between coloring Harry Potter's hair green or blue.
I know it's because I understand the world better, more than what I understood 10 years ago. Because I have been through a life unfiltered over the past ten years ( and will continue to do so), compared to the first nine years. Because events do define you. Because people, even though they come and go, change you.
I'm not the same person as I was ten years ago because I hate math. I'm not the same person because puberty strolled by. I'm not the same person because I'm expected to handle breakups and goodbyes and criticism be myself. I'm not the same person because I like reading literary classics instead of Magic Tree House.
I'm not the same person because I can speak for myself.
I'm not the same person because I CAN handle criticisms and breakups and goodbyes.
I'm not the same person because I wont wait for someone to ask me if I want to play tag; I'll initiate the game.
I'm not the same person because I understand change is inevitable and that nothing stays the same, no matter how strong your grip is.
I'm not the same person. I never will be. Just an amalgamation of experiences, memories and life learned lessons.
I'm not the same person.
Interesting. This is the classic question of nature versus nurture. To a fifteen year old like myself, ten years is quite a long time, two thirds of my life to be precise. I can say for sure that a LOT has changed since I was five. I look different, i behave differently, my social circles have changed, my attitude has changed and my entire skill set has changed. If i had to answer this question in one sentence, it would be no, I am definitely not the same person I was ten years ago. Forget about ten years, I'm radically different from the person I was a year ago. from personal experience I can say for certain that nurture is far far far more powerful a factor than your nature when you were born. You can change absolutely anything in your life with effort and the right conditions. I would give nurture to nature a 50 to 1 ratio because I for one haven't been born with any obvious exceptional talents and the few modest things I can do and have achieved are because of hard work. I think it would be sinful if you were the same person you were ten years ago because change catalyses progress. You cannot develop as a person if you remain the same. I didn't see myself as being half as capable with anything even a couple of years ago. I probably cannot imagine what i will accomplish ten years from NOW. You will never remain the same, and if you do then its time for a change. If there's one thing I can say for certain about life from experiences in my relatively short life, It goes on.
I think out of all the thunks I’ve commented on, I’ve probably had to think about this one for the longest time because it’s essentially asking me to compare adorable six year old smiley Simrah who had massive eyes and short hair with sixteen year old simrah who still has massive eyes and is just as smiley (most of the time!).
I think mentally and emotionally, I’m definitely not the same person I was ten years ago. My opinions and thought processes have completely changed because I know more, I’m more well-read and knowledgeable about things; I don’t see the world in the same light I used to like when a naïve, innocent six year old girl. The way I respond to things emotionally has also changed – I don’t cry and bawl when things go wrong – instead I try and figure out why they went wrong in the first place and come up with a solution; and if the problem can’t be fixed, then move on and try to learn from it. Moreover, I don’t think I physically look the same; yes I still have big brown eyes and dark hair, but my hair has grown longer and I’ve obviously grown taller; I’m still in the same body I was ten years ago, but all my organs have matured and so I have as person – all for the better. (:
10 years ago I was a small, chubby, shy and seriously introverted six year old. To compare myself now to then…that’s difficult.
I, unsurprisingly one may think, feel I’ve progressed somewhat. Life has become more difficult and I think I have evolved, as so many of us do. Physically, everyone knows it’s a turbulent time, but that’s an uncomfortable conversation I’m not willing to have with myself on the internet, to be honest. I don’t think I need to in fact; most people go through similar things while growing (from what I gauge from my peers).
Anyways, I digress.
If I am to be entirely honest, I wonder how much I have existentially changed from my six-year-old self. Although probably not sophisticated enough to mentally cope with all of the everyday difficulties people have to deal with nowadays; internet trolls, politics, financial decisions, leaving home, getting a job, etc., my younger self was an awesome person. He was so kind to others, because he was just told that was the right thing. He didn’t have to think about much, because he was too busy wondering what multiplication was. He was so open to new ideas and new concepts because he didn’t really know much. He was curious. He was friendly. He was simple. Maybe too simple.
I think I’ve changed. I think I’ve progressed to become closer to a person who can contribute to the world in a far-reaching and meaningful manner. I hope so because, despite the esteem in which I held my younger, more innocent self, that’s not the person I need to be.
This is a constant battle between whether I'm the same person or am I constantly changing. As for who I am, I am not sure, because I'm a lot of things.. I think it's safe to say that, even biologically, the only constant aspect of me, that hasn't change since the day I was born would have to be my eyes, they haven't grown in size or shape, only the skin around them.. otherwise, I don't even resemble my childhood pictures.
Everyday teaches us at least one new thing, and that has an effect on who we are as people.Altering our personality day by day, our perceptions, views and overall life.
Our identities don't change either, however, the way we identify with ourselves changes.
Shakespeare shows us in his "7 ages of man",how we move from one stage to another. To one thing a constant never.
Am I the same person I was 10 years ago? Certainly not. Change is a natural progression; we experience different aspects of life at different periods of time. Regardless of the significance of an event, whether it may be learning how to walk as a toddler, to learning how to walk in heels as a teenager, everything I have experienced in the past 10 years of my humble existence on planet earth, has resulted in a lesson of sorts. Many proverbs from varying parts of the world state “experience is the best teacher.” And it’s true. All my experiences and interactions with external factors have all shaped who I am as a person today. I take what I have learned from an experience, and apply it to any similar future endeavours. I use what I have learnt to change myself for the better.
That being said, I would still like to believe that the little girl in me exists. That she hasn’t become jaded over-time. In order to have an exciting and fulfilling life, I like to view the world through the eyes of my inner, silly 5 year old self. Everything is all of a sudden new, fresh and most of all important. That flower on the tree, half in bloom, that little aquarium at the dentist’s? Or even simply enjoying a good book; it’s the little things I like to think I still pay attention to, that often fascinate children, but are overlooked by adults, who lead busy lives with work commitments and the pressures of ‘making it’, that they sometimes don’t fully appreciate the world passing by.
The past 10 years of my existence have culminated to form a girl who has had her ups and downs, who uses the lessons learned from her experiences to guide her future decisions. I would say that am most certainly not the same exact person; rather I’m a person who hasn’t lost the crazy bubbly 5 year old in her, yet also manages to evolve and grow as much as possible to the best version of herself.
Ten years ago, I was 8 years old. I believe that what really "makes" a person is their beliefs, their thought processes, decision making skills; goals, sources of motivation and their way of thinking in general. All of the aforementioned qualities are grown and evolved by means of experiencing life through trial and error and learning who you are because of it, in the process. Eight years, in my opinion, is quite a lot of time to have filled with those experiences. Indeed, if someone were to tell me that I've always been the same, I would be deeply outraged and offended as that would equate to me not having grown as a person at all during that duration. Therefore, I should hope that I am not the same person I was 10 years ago, as that would inevitably signify stagnancy.
I believe that someone's personality is shaped during their childhood. Childhood is a critical phase for a person's conditioning and growth. Regardless of what may happen to a person during their adulthood it won't affect them as much as traumatic or major events during their childhood would do.
Looking back to my 6 year old self, although I hardly remember anything, I'm still the introverted curious person I used to be. Nothing significant that I can recall has changed. Though, I have been on a roller coaster of changes -thanks to puberty- but I still came back to my old original self. It's my one true self that I know very well as much as I don't know at all. Yet, there are some minor changes that I think will last forever as a result of some overwhelming experiences I went through afterwards.
No one is really ever the same person they were 10 years ago.
Because changing is a part of growing and developing.
Just like our cells need to divide and multiply to strengthen and grow our bodies, our minds need to open up and create new ideas to nourish our growth as well.
If a baby never extended it's mind to learn new skills, toddlers couldn't have learnt to walk.
Exactly like that in order for our minds and our bodies to develop we need to constantly redecorate our personalities to meet what is beneficial to us at that point in our lives.
While you're in school, maybe you can get away with being a follower of your tiny group of friends, not speaking not discussing not innovating, just following the herd to be able to fit into the crowd. -even though now, you can't really get away with that as a student either-
But what about when your manager is looking for the next scoop in their new publication, and you have no new ideas, and no communication skills, it might just cost you your job.
Point being, at different stages in a human's life, a human's personality requires different traits, and so in order to develop and adapt to their new setting and environment, they need to change.
Essentially, leaving the world with a whole different 7.4 human population.
Just after one decade.
At the current stage of my life, a decade is a relatively long time. To put it into mathematical perspective, 10 years makes up approximately 58% of my entire lifetime to this very day. Unlike our five principal senses, chronoception (the sense of time) does not have a specialized area of the brain associated with it. One of the ramifications is that a middle-aged adult and a teenager will have rather variegated perceptions of even a small amount of time like one minute.
Keeping this in mind, I believe I have changed quite drastically in many ways; many of these biological. Why I stress the importance of biological change is because it has a direct implication on social development, thus I do not consider them separate entities. To begin with there are some obvious observable physical changes brought about by the 'blessings' of puberty. To this I can attribute an increase in height, complexity of musculoskeletal structure, facial hair, vulnerability to acne and many others.
However the change everyone is more interested in is the brain. From infancy until the beginning of puberty, we go through a stage known as exuberant sypnatogenisis. This a period where a significant amount of energy is dedicated to the development of neural connections, which occurs at a rapid rate as consequence. This explains why children are like sponges to knowledge in their early years. I would have been going through this stage 10 years ago and so there will be an obvious difference in my cognition, from emotional response to higher thinking.
At a cellular level, ignoring the aspects of continuously regenerating tissue like the skin, there has also been some fundamental changes. This is particularly in my genes because of epigenetics, which is the organizational changes our genes go though because of environmental factors. One notable expert Tim Spector goes as far as to say that epigenetic changes have an effect on personal beliefs, hence it makes a viable addition to my list of changes.
On a conclusive note, our bodies will forever be changing and so no person will ever be the same person 10 years ago, biologically or socially. Yet a decade will be a 10 years for some but 87,600 hours for others.
Over time we all change, I'm not the same person I was ten years ago.
Ten years ago I was six. Well, six year old me had a really naive approach to society. As time went by I understood the society we lived in better, I realized not everything is fun and games. There comes a defining point in our lives where we involuntarily have to decide whether this change will impact us in a negative way or maybe a positive way.
It's been ten years, and I have changed quite a bit over the years. I look different, sound different and more importantly I feel different. There's another important change I've faced, it's that I've stopped thinking like the unaware naive child that I was ten years back and now started thinking as person who is aware of the true realities and the harshness of the world we live in.
A simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ would be too easy too much of a simplified approach, so let’s make life harder than it needs to be, shall we?
I think this question relates back to another one that we discussed a few months ago (ah, good times): “If science could find a way to transplant your brain into the body of someone named John, would you then be you or John?”. This definitely begs the question, what do you define as “you”?
Is it my multifaceted personality that makes me ‘me’? Things get a little complicated. Personality is defined as “the set of emotional qualities, ways of behaving, etc., that makes a person different from other people” by Merriam-Webster and I think it sums it up pretty well. I definitely have different emotional qualities and behavioural patterns (puberty has definitely proven that) than me of ten years ago, most of the time, anyway. Sometimes (read: most of the time), I do revert back to that naïve emotional idealist with a billion pointless questions (a lot of chocolate is involved, I assure you) but that’s a story for another day. From all of that, you should have gotten that I am no longer the same person.
Is it the physical aspect that defines you as ‘you’? Are we simply a collection of physical organs and limbs? If so, every time I cut my hair or scrape my knee, I am no longer ‘me’. I am some modified version of me but longer the original. In that case, I am definitely not the same person I was a decade ago taking into the billions of cells I’ve lost and regenerated in various parts of my body.
But then who was that adorable bubble of joy who blew out six candles on her birthday cake ten years ago? Who was that ray of rainbows and sunshine (narcissism at its best) who dressed up as a pumpkin for ‘Food-fest’? Was that not me? That was still, objectively speaking ‘me’. Sure, not ‘me’ as me right now but ‘me’ nonetheless. No matter how much I try to become, say, Emma Watson, in the next decade or so, I will always be a version of Poojitha and no one else no matter how many physical modifications and personality changes I undergo. (Surprise me, technology)
So, in conclusion, I am still a version of me that I was ten years ago – a modified and, hopefully, better version. Just because an iPhone 6 has come out, it doesn’t mean that the original iPhone is not an iPhone anymore. It may be vastly different from and very inferiorto its newer ‘generations’ but it is an iPhone nonetheless, much like how Poojitha 16.0 may not be identical to Poojitha 6.0 but is still Poojitha.
A person is the sum total of their life experiences that they have acquired via shared knowledge to form schemas and I believe that this is something personal that differentiates us from one another as each person perceives and receives the world in a different manner.
On the other hand my biological makeup also changes – it is estimated that every couple of years our cells completely regenerate, thus quite literally changing our entire selves. Not to mention the trials of puberty in which our body grows and morphs itself into a new being. The only thing that remains constant are my internal organs and basic DNA structure.
To conclude whilst I am for the most part physically the same person I am a rejuvenated form of myself from 10 years ago as I have grown mentally & emotionally due to the built up schemas from those years of experience.
“As the archaeology of our thought easily shows, man is an invention of recent date. And one perhaps nearing its end.”
What is the meaning of life? What is our purpose? Such questions are perplexing and unfortunately come with no solid answer leaving us humans to hypothesise about the substance of life itself. We have turned to science to provide us with answers but it has only reported back to us with how we have gotten here – even this has doubts, however – there are no empirical ways on answering why we are here therefore this is purely a philosophical question filled with speculation.
According to the major Abrahamic religions, we were put on this earth as a test to our faith and according to recent investigations by scientists we might just be a simulation similar to the matrix. If we were to follow this train of thought then indeed we are simply here as a trial for future generations or things we are still unknown to.
Life is an experiment in the sense that it is a test for us to see if we can achieve whatever it is we set forth as our personal end goal.
My current identity as a person is formed of my conscious thought, my name and my physical features. Out of these, two have changed rather drastically and one entirely constant. My name, is the one absolutely constant and unchanged element of my identity- 6 year old Ramya and 17 Year old Ramya are both called, Ramya. My physical features such as my height has (arguably) grown and all other features have taken their biological path of cell multiplication, growth and regeneration. And lastly, just like the rapid changes that have occurred to the environment around us, my character or my conscious thought has gone through some extensive changes in the past 10 years as well. I have read, I have learnt, I have experienced, and these have formed the fundamentals of what has shaped me as a 'person' during this past decade. To some, this change may have been gradual and to some sudden, but it is an inevitable part of our lives and is something that affects everyone individually.
10 years ago, I was 6. At 6, I faintly remember being someone impulsive, outspoken, constantly angry, over confident, and I was sure I was going to be a princess by the age of 18. So clearly, delusional, naive and brash were synonyms for “Shanelle”. I can't confidently say I've completely transformed but I can only hope for significant changes compared to the six year old, I just described.
Now in 10 years (a colossal amount of time, in my estimation) one is bound to change both physically and mentally. If I were to take a critical look at myself, mentally, I believe I have changed due to my peers who are growing with me, side by side, and of course my family and friends, the evolving environment, the expectations society sets for me. These are largely some of the factors that have played a notable role in my transformation. As individuals we mature bothphysically and mentally, and as I mature, I develop, and as I learn, I would, naturally grow and inevitably change.
Physically, my body has grown and developed from a tot of 64 cms to a towering 171 cms. Which is a significant change. I guess my looks have changed too, having shed all the puppy fat over the years! Hopefully I look more mature now than I did then, Principally, I may have changed in several other waysas well, besides physically and mentally. Emotionally I know I’ve grown up. My intellect, my perceptions, attitude to life in general, my viewpoints, my independence levels, have of course evolved hugely for the better, when I compare myself to me at 6. A simple instance is that I no longer need to hold my mother’s hand to cross to the other side of a road. Most physical things I do now are done independent of assistance. My perceptions and viewpoints have massively evolved. I recall when I was 6, and I saw a homeless man begging on the side of the road, I would, as a child, feel disgust, looking at his appearance, felt intimidated by his persistence anduneasy with his very presence. I would want him gone out of my sight as he was too appalling a sight for my simple and innocent view of what is beautiful.Today, my goal is to be a philanthropist because all I feel when I look at the underprivileged, is a genuineneed to lift them out of their appalling conditions. I feel a surge of sympathy, empathy and anger for them, and a pressing urge to make things right, at least to the extent possible, Sentiments I never experienced, as a child. Moreover, when I saw or experienced a death in the family, as a child, even though there was a sense of momentary sadness and melancholy, it was forgotten quickly, as I had no conception of what death really meant, nor could I comprehend what loss of life meant in my small self-involved little world.
Today, death affects me in a way that it changes the way I look at life. My emotions have matured in the sense that my feelings are affected greatly, my coping mechanisms more multidimensional, my views more enhanced by what I’ve assimilated of my experiences, and so on.
I can say now that I am far more evolved from a 6 year old in the many facets of human development, that are physical, psychological, emotional and intellectual.
To conclude, I can undoubtedly say that I am not the same person as I was 10 years ago, and I presume that's for the best. It would be illogical and chaotic having adults behaving like 6-10 year olds. And most definitely not an adult behaving like I did at 6.
NO, I am not the same physically, psychologically or emotionally, I am much more mature as a person now, than when I was 7, I am much more level-headed and I don't have the tendency to throw tantrums anymore. 7 year old me did. Most of my body cells as different my 7-year-old cells died and new ones took their place, most of my body cells are new,ones that my 7-year-old self-didn't have. Emotionally my 7-year-old self would cry at the slightest and laugh at the most inappropriate times, my emotional self is much stronger, more refined, aware of how I feel in any given situation and why . When I was 7 I would sometimes cry when I was happy and I wouldn't know why. My 17-year-old self still does the same sometimes, but I now know why that happens.
On the other hand YES I am te same, I have the same dna, same family, same culture, same background, same temperament,and in some ways the things that are the same are more important than the things that aren't.
So am I the same person---I'd like to think not...but who knows?
This question got me thinking, what makes me 'me' ? Could it be my personality, my memories, my genes or my physical avatar? 10 years is a considerable amount of time in an individual's life, especially for those who are young.
Out all the various ways I could possibly define 'me', the only thing that hasn't changed is my genetic makeup as well as some other pretty irrelevant details such as my name, date of birth, gender, etc. Everything else is completely different, I have learned a lot from experiences throughout my (short) life and hence, think and view the world very differently, am more matured as compared to a pretty stubborn 5 year old me and have different expectations and goals for myself. I have also changed physically and although it might have some features reminiscent of the 5 year me, my body has grown and changed a lot over the course of the decade.
One of my favourite and most fascinating ways of defining a person is by the physical matter, the atoms and molecules, making up the person's body. There is a very high chance that I have atoms that others once had and so I would like to think that I'm part Shakespeare, part Einstein, part Newton and part who knows what !
I believe that the person I was 10 years ago is someone I no longer am . That identity that persona is something that died within me over the past ten years . Each chip of that identity slowly broke off whenever I learnt something new about the world . So let me explain what this means . I held particular beliefs and propositions and concepts and mental images of the world around me . Over time I learnt newer and newer things about the world either through my experiences or through new knowledge imparted to me at school . These new information started modifying the existing information I had about the world and to varying extents myself and these modifications in turn started to influence the way I looked at the world and the information which affected the concept of I (or that information which changed the way I thought about myself ) were the most transforming and identity changing factors that affected me the most . Hence I can say that the amount of information I have absorbed on various topics which affects me or the world around me has caused me to become a very different person than I was not even five years ago forget ten .
Ten years ago I was six, an age where curiosity and endless questioning was quite rampant much to the annoyance of adults around me. As a six year old, I often spent time reading endless amounts of non-fiction books and filling me mind with enough knowledge to temporarily calm my inquisitive mind. But am I the same person?
Technically, yes. This is simply because six years ago I was still called by my current name and my soul was in the same-but tinier body; my soul hadn't transported itself into someone named John.
Now, ten years into the present and I am much taller, I have been imparted more knowledge and I have learnt to see the bigger picture. I am still that same person I was six years ago, albeit more independent and mature. The curiosity and hunger for knowledge is still there within me. Me growing up does not change who as I was ten years ago. It simply makes me more complex, along with the many more layers of experience and personality that have been added to my character. The saying 'old habits die hard' perfectly depicts this. People may hear about my antics as a six year old and find that completely surprising or shocking, but in the end elements of my younger self are bound to move forward with me in life.
To conclude, I am the same person, although changed in numerous ways I still am the same.
Who am I as a ‘person’? Am I the sum total of my knowledge, ideas and experiences; or am I a human being with a fixed genetic identity? Considering this is essential when trying to formulate an answer. Ultimately, whether or not you are the same person you were ten years ago would depend on your individual definition of a ‘person’.
Consider the first instance. Compared to that of my six year old self, my knowledge is far greater in depth and breadth. My ideas, shaped by a comparatively mature perspective, are more complex, and my experiences have increased multifold. Arguably, I am a completely different person. Many factors have molded my character, personality and beliefs over the past ten years; so much so, that my selfish, obstinate six-year-old self would almost be unrecognizable next to me. Almost.
However, I am essentially still the same human being. My body might have changed in appearance, but it is still my body. My daily experiences may be different, but they are still my experiences. My behavior may have changed, but people who have known me since birth still identify me as the same person.
Both perspectives hold some element of truth. I am still the same, but different.
10 years ago, I was 6 years old. Have I changed as a person since then and if yes, by how much? The answer to this question would depend on your definition of a ‘person’.
At a cellular level, there are certain changes as cells in the body completely replenish themselves in 10 years. However, heart cells cannot regenerate though, and they stay the same throughout. It is the same for most brain cells. After birth until the maximum age of 4, thousands of brain cells are made, but then after that age brain cells regenerate very slowly. Most brain cells such as the Neurons in the cerebral cortex are never replaced. There are no neurons added to your cerebral cortex after birth.
On the other hand, my beliefs, decisions, experiences, thought processes; goals, sources of motivation and outlook of life in general have changed greatly. All the aforementioned qualities have changed who I am and have bought me to the position I am in today.
So, it depends on how you approach this question, as a person who favours changes, I’d like to think I have changed as I believe change paves the way to progress. You cannot develop as a person if you remain the same.
Therefore, while I may not have not completely changed, I am still not the same person I was 10 years ago.
I overindulge in food and books. I write just because. I laugh my way out of everything.
So what has changed?
Stubby legs grew to longer limbs. Experience replaced childish innocence. Choosing which jelly bean to eat wasn’t the hardest of problems anymore (debatable).
But truly, I’ve always been Alethea. Alethea from birth, Alethea from 10 years ago, Alethea today. It’s like updated models of the iPhone releasing each year. Isn't an iPhone 3GS just as much an iPhone as the iPhone 6S?
Yes, there has considerable change in the 10 years in all aspects of my life, be it physical transformations, knowledge gained or personal connections built. But it was me all along. And it always will be. Even 10 years into the future.
In terms of pure identity, there is no question that I have remained the same from the past 10 years. However, I as an individual have undergone quite dramatic alterations, as I have transitioned from a toddler into a primary kid into a teenager, and finally an adult (since 7 days, to be precise). These transitionary phases have seen me undergo changes from both physiological and emotional standpoints. The physiological change is more or less consistent across teenagers. It’s the latter change that deserves to be speculated upon more, since it is very much variable across individuals.
Your emotional state is dependent on the kind of experiences you face, and how you react to and learn from each one of them. Of course, the genetic makeup of an individual plays a role to some extent, in determining how you react to your surroundings, as well as the socioeconomic status you are born. It is after we have controlled for these two variables, that we can really judge the inner personality. Having moved across three schools and two countries, I have come in contact with a fusion of persona, cultures and perspectives that have taught me the differing ways in which people behave. Being the reflective, reactive (rather than proactive) person that I like to be, I seek to pick up the good and desirable traits that I perceive in others, while preventing the bad and undesirable traits (those according to me at least) from building up within myself from others. It is simply because of the sheer increase in volume of events and experiences that I came across (besides the obvious increase in the brain’s processing ability), that have morphed my emotional/mental state from that when I was 8.
The past 10 years I have gone through are generally the most important; in terms of molding of personal and ethical values, as well as views on societal and global issues. Any other 10-year-span from now on would not produce as much change in the aforementioned aspects, for the general human. In my instance, I have changed from one who would be aggressively competitive in any activity, to one who is more interested in absolute comparisons, from one who would cry when his favorite team would lose, to one who understands that defeat is a part and parcel of life. Yet there are some preferences and traits that would not change. The tendency to make the silliest of mistakes, the intense cravings for chocolate, the attitude characterized by a need for speed; these seem to be likely to stay for the rest of my life.
Life consists of certain indelible moments that can be compared to the stretching of a rubber band; just as how having greater strain on the band results in extension of length, placing your inner resolve into strain broadens your perspective, and makes you more mature as a person. It is such moments that are sought after by everyone, as they strive to transform the persons they are. I am no exception.
This thunk question really got me reminiscing. Anyway, it's indubitably irrefutable that i am the same person i was 10 years ago. At least my passport(s) says that. Without doubt, i have had countless changes, many as drastic as like facial hair. More importantly however, my perspective and perception (at most) have had momentous revamp. It feels almost inconceivable thinking how i was at the age of 6 and what i have become today. Being a toddler that i was, i was simply a playful child, like any other 6 year old looking at the world with simpleness and enjoying being responsibility-free.
One factor that has really been in effect is experience. We humans spend our time doing plentiful, and step by step evolve to try being something better than before, and with time comes experience, more crucially the mistakes we make, i believe that's what makes the experience worthwhile. Every human makes mistakes, it’s arguably the best method to learn something from, and when life is so kinetic, we move on and evidently learn to progress.
It comes all under experience: attitude, etiquette, cognizance and lastly and quite obviously, the physical attributes (tripling in size, i'd notice).
Every day in our life we make a decision, to be what we are & subsequently accept the fact; if that's not the choice, we often turn over a new leaf. Posterior to any choice, we make headway.
Speaking personally, I would've never imagined this is the person i was headed towards, neither do i think anyone did actually. My standpoint, interpretation, comprehension, and naturally my social circles have had significant refinements. Fascinating how we transmogrify completely over the period of individual epoch. So i'd say no, i am not the same person today than i was 10 years ago.
What makes us who we are?
I as a person have different components that make me unique and what I am. These components include: family background, personality, genes and where u come from. Nature and Nurture shape what we are and effect us as we grow older. I am the same person I was ten years ago, I am from the same country, I am still as passionate about art and I still look similar to me 10 years ago.
However, does that make me the same person as I was before? Time changes you as you experience new thing everyday. The new experiences constantly alter your perception and change the views you have on a particular issues or even your total outlook on society. Everyday is like a new lesson where you learn an abundance of information. Other influences that change your life are the people that you meet and their experiences they share with you. You may look up to them as a role model or a friend but they can impact your life significantly by reconstructing your beliefs from making you have more knowledge to make these decisions. Furthermore, as you grow your brain matures allowing you to have more patience and control. The change from 10 years ago and now is very important as it ensure that we move forward and grow as a person because with out change we wouldn’t develop new inventions or innovations. As George Bernard Shaw once said, “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything”.
10 years ago my closet manly consisted of pink barbie themed clothes, I had a very limited idea of the world beyond Tunisia and I wanted to work as a chemical technician in mu dad's company mainly because I thought they had cool lab coats. So not only am I not the same person I was 10 years ago, I am beyond thankful for it. During the last 10 years I moved 4 times, changed schools 6 times and met people from all around the world. I read all sorts of books, can now speak 4 languages as opposed to only speaking Arabic when I was 6, and have no Barbie themed clothes in my closet (thank god). But I guess the question comes down to how we define our selves, the name on my passport hasn't change, but we all like to think of ourselves as more than just a name on a passport, we all want to be unique to differentiate ourselves, but if we change, if every single experience we had changes us than who are we, how do we define ourselves if the definition is ever changing? There are things about me that haven't changed, I still love to learn, I still love my family and my country, I still have a deep passion for sciences, But I am ok with not having a permanent I identity, there are things about me that I hope won't change,but there are things I am proud to have changed, my vision and knowledge of the world and of other cultures for example and my love for travel, and there are things I hope to change in myself, like my tenancy to procrastinate a lot. I hope to keep learning and I am not afraid to change my opinions and views on certain things, because to me that is the only way to grow as a person, so no I am not the same person I was 10 years ago, because my general view of the world has changed and I have grown a lot as a person.
Ten years is a very long period of time so much so that it constitutes more than half my life. To be honest I don’t remember much about my six-year-old self but I can recollect the transition that I have undergone. I am no longer someone who avoids confrontation as I have gotten many opportunities to develop my self confidence.
Along with my personality my thinking skills have evolved too. As a six-year-old I accepted all information blindly but now I analyze all information I receive. I no longer simply amass information instead I attempt to build my knowledge.
My outlook towards the world has changed too. My experiences have taught me that all that glitters is not gold and I am grateful for such learnings.
I no longer want the Cinderella themed cake I had on my sixth birthday party but I still love cake. I still enjoy dancing and reading. So perhaps I haven’t changed much?
I think that I am simply a different version of myself. Quite like our inventions we too keep developing as we receive feedback from our surroundings and our experiences. This enables us to become better versions of ourselves.
The answer is largely depending on the viewpoint of the person considering it. From my parents' viewpoint, I may still be the same son to them which is still theoretically correct. Yet from my own viewpoint, I consider myself to be largely dependant with only the feeling of experiencing both linking them together.
Biologically, everything from my cell composition to neural capacitance has changed, to the point where only my DNA is identical. Mentally, I have grown to engage in higher constructive thinking, therefore breaking away from the decisions that my seven year old counterpart would deem correct. From a changed ambition to a changed physiology, my the only thing my younger self would agree upon is that we are very much different.
While I may still be considered the same individual as I was ten years ago, I am, in fact, not the same person in any sense. Despite sharing the same name or family, my personality has evolved till the two are very different.
Time is the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole.
A person is a being, such as a human, that has certain capacities or attributes constituting personhood, which in turn is defined by physical appearances, personalities, behavior, etc.
As time progresses the world around us changes and we change with it, physically and mentally.
Physical growth refers to an increase in body size (length or height and weight) and in the size of organs. From birth to about age 1 or 2 years, children grow rapidly. Even though growth slows after this, it never stops. Every second, at least one cell in our bodies is dying and is being replaced by another cell that can never be exactly the same as the previous cell. Though we will still have the same heart and same two pairs of ears, our body cells still grow and mature or get replaced, thus technically making us a different person.
Moreover, we may be composed of the same atoms, but only approximately. In one minute, for example, one metabolizes about 4.5 grams of oxygen every 60 seconds. In addition to that, trillions of carbon dioxide molecules leave our lungs and trillions more are assimilated from the products of digestion. In short, the body undergoes a constant cycle of breakdown and synthesis. On a molecular and atomic level we are not quite the same person we were a minute ago.
When speaking about the mind, we have the same brain: the same neurons (more or less), the same synapses, the same blood vessels and connective tissue inside our skull. But as a person, we are also characterized by our own sense of beliefs, our personality and attitude, all of which are influenced by surrounding and life experiences. Even though a highly drastic change in behavior is seen only due to traumatic experiences, we are all always growing mentally. Ten years ago, there are many things I did not experience and did not know. But now, I have experienced things I would have not imagined years ago and learnt things I couldn’t dream of as a six year old. These things shaped my mind and personality, changed my outlook on life, the way I did things and my preferences. It changed me as a person.
Thus even though we were human ten years ago and will still remain a human, even years after this, we are not the same person we were ten years ago, a month ago, a week ago or even a minute ago. We are always growing and experiencing new things. It never stops, that’s life.
If my 6-year-old self and I were arguing I would probably throw a stool at the child because of their incompetence.
Realistically speaking I am the same 'person' I was 10 years ago as I am by definition the same individual. However, I regard personality a major part of being a person. You are not a person until you have certain beliefs, values or priorities. If those change then you have changed as a person. Perhaps a better word would be evolved. And I know I have evolved over the last 10 years. If I hadn’t it would be very sad. That would mean that I haven’t learned or gained anything over that past 10 years of my living.
I am a different person. I have learned many things in 10 years. I have learned things academically too. Al these things accumulated make be a more efficient and intelligent human being in society. I have extremely different priorities now. At 6 years old by biggest goal was to convince my mom to buy me another chocolate bar but know my biggest ambition is far into the future just attainable to strive for. Now I worry about the balance in my life. The balance of fun and work but then I didn’t have enough work to even think of that.
This question comes down to what makes you a person? What makes you? For me you cannot be a person without personality and character but others may think differently. The answer lies in the eyes of the beholder.
Who was I ten years ago? I don’t even remember. This is because events in life, especially those at a younger age have shaped who I am today.
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, my upbringing was unorthodox as compared to those who lived in first world countries. Nigeria is a less economically developed country, so I spent many days when I was young without electricity and without clean water. Back then, this was the norm for me. Today, I live in Dubai, a much more economically developed country that Nigeria. If I were to go back to Nigeria in a time when there is no electricity, I would feel as if I was being tortured, as I am no longer used to poor conditions like that.
Additionally, 10 years ago, I didn’t have a goal. I just wanted to grow up fast. Now that I’m almost an adult, I feel as if life is hitting harder and harder with each passing day. Not only do I want life to move slower, but I also now have a goal. Today I know my plans for the future, and I am fighting to achieve them. Life has changed significantly. If I was to meet my 10 year old self, I would hardly recognise him.
My name is Trisha Gunawardene, and for the past ten years, my name has remained the same. My eyes and hair are black, and it has remained the same for ten years. But am I still the same person as I was ten years ago?
Physically considering this, no I am not completely identical to my six year old self, I have grown taller, my hair has grown longer, my eyesight has grown weaker and puberty has caused many changes in my female body. But some features are still noticeable enough for me to be recognised by people who have only seen my past self, and then comment on the changes they see.
Socially speaking, indeed I have changed, for time changes people, Through experiences, I have learnt many gross motor and fine motor skills, that have improved, I have enhanced my cognitive and intellectual abilities, and because of this I was qualified to move up grades, and finally reach where I am today. Some of the friends I had back then, have been lost, and some strengthened.
Environmental changes also have a huge impact, before technology was not introduced into education, so I had zero knowledge on how to use it, but now communication and technology has improved exponentially without a doubt, which is slowly changing the path of my life and the lives of many others.
According to my birth certificate, I am the same person as I was, but am I really? I think not, and in another ten years, I will not be who I am today.
Technically, yes I am the same person, I still have the same name, parents, sisters etc… However I have evolved so much. I do not think the same way, I do not look exactly the same and I do not have the same perspectives and views.
With all the new experiences and mistakes I have made, I have learnt many new things which have taught me a lot. My experiences have shaped my perspectives and the way I think. The fact that I went around the world with my family, 5 years ago, has shaped how I look at the world and different cultures.
10 years ago, I had never left Europe and therefore didn’t know what was outside of my little bubble. I therefore didn’t know different mentalities and cultures. 10 years ago, I was only 7. How much can a 7 year old know anything. I was in an international school but most of my friends spoke either french or english and were mostly english, american or french. When I was 7 my views of the world were entirely different and I looked completely different. I am much wiser now and know a lot more than before.
Therefore, I am technically the same person as I was 10 years ago but I am completely different in the way I view things and even the way I look.
Before answering this question, I would first ask myself: who am I? What makes me ‘Hamza’? I can think of this in terms of my physical makeup, my mental construct, or the social characteristics and social labels that have been assigned to me.
Firstly, when talking in terms of physical makeup, I cannot think of anything that has not changed. All the cells in our bodies eventually die off and get replaced by new ones. However, I have a genetic makeup that is unique to me, that shapes my characteristics to a certain extent - not too much though. This is just one factor, however, which becomes almost negligible when compared to all the other bodily changes that have happened.
When thinking in terms of mental experiences or personal perspectives, it becomes easier to answer the question. Forget 10 years, I’m not the same person I was a year ago. I’ve gone through so much in the past, which has changed the way I communicate with people, how I think about the world, how I think about my academics, and how i think about myself in general. For example, I’ve become extremely open minded compared to my 15-16 year old self, let alone my 7 year old self. It seems ludicrous to suggest that I am the same person I was 10 years ago.
When I think in terms of social characteristics and labels, then I really haven’t changed much. I have the same name, the same family, relatives, etc. No matter how much I change physically or mentally, people still know that it is Hamza, and not someone else; I have a certain identity that is unique to me. What has changed in this area, though, are expectations; being a 17 year old, people expect certain things that they do not expect from my 7 year old self. For example, I am now expected to take control of my own learning, whereas when I was 7, everything was provided; a teacher, a set curriculum, a fixed arsenal of textbooks, etc. When we start to talk about social change in a micro perspective, I could argue that some change has occurred, but it is just not that significant.
Having considered these perspectives, I would say that I am not the same person I was 10 years ago. I feel more inclined to define myself according to my experiences, and the ideas that i hold, compared to my social label, or physical makeup
I've got a few memories from 10 years ago. Memories from the perspective of a 6-year-old kid. I can remember this kid doing things, and apparently I was the one making the decisions to do these things. Now that I look back, I am absolutely nothing like my 6 year old self. My consciousness has been fed with experiences and there is no way it would make the same decisions it made 10 years ago. But does that mean it's a different consciousness now? Of course not. It still is the same consciousness. It has merely improved. A lot. And improving something does not equal changing it. So this covers the mental aspect of my identity. What about the physical aspect?
If it's true that every cell in the human body is replaced every 7 or 10 years, I'm definitely not the same person physically. I mean, I've still got the same genetic code. But, if we clone an organism, or if an organism reproduces asexually to produce a different organism with identical genes, can we say that both organisms are the same one? I wouldn't. It makes no sense to me. So perhaps, the genetic code is not the factor that defines each person.
On the first thunk of the GHP, the one about transplanting my brain onto John's body, I answered that a person is defined by their consciousness. And I stand by this opinion. Therefore, I indeed am the same person I was 10 years ago despite the physical differences.
10 years. That’s a lot of time to live through. Of course, given that it’s a long period, anyone going through a period as long is bound to change, albeit physically or mentally, or both. 10 Years ago, I was 7. I was still Leone Araujo, I still lived in Dubai, I still loved dogs, I guess some things are just hardwired into you. Of course I wasn’t physically same, my outlook on the world was different too. I looked at the world in the rainbow sprinkled way I was taught, either directly by my parents and teachers or indirectly via cartoons. Of course, 10 years fast forward, I am not the same person I was. More important than physical changes, my outlook on the world has so greatly changed, that in comparison they look like two completely opposite ends of a spectrum. Growing up, I learnt the harsh realities of the world through life experiences; my favourite Uncle’s death, my dad being let off during recession, war, famine, this was way too much to hold. Is this really the same world I thought would be filled with happiness 10 years ago? Yes it is. I can definitely say I have changed compared to my life 10 years ago, what I’m not sure of is if it was for better or for worse.
Let me start by debunking the myth that all the cells in our body are completely replaced every 7-10 years. In fact, the cells that play the most important role in making "us" are never replaced; that is, the neurons in the cerebal cortex.
That being said, when neurons in the cerebral cortex die, they aren't replaced. So the ones that aren't used as often as others tend to be the ones that die. As a result, we forget. We don't forget everything though, just things that become less relevant or important.
So the person I was 10 years ago (although I was only 7, still a person), is very much different than the person I am today. I have formed new memories and reconstructed neuron pathways in my brain in the past 10 years and forgotten things that have become less important (and things that are still important, unfortunately).
So yes, I'd say that both mentally and physically I am a different person than I was 10 years ago.
Growth is inevitable therefore the person who you were yesterday is even different from the person you are today. Over the span of a decade even if we were to decide not to change the world around us would.
From shifting perspectives to gaining new experiences we become changed individuals even if we are oblivious to it.
We also as social beings try to adapt to our environments therefore it is most likely that we do change the environment we live in over the course of ten years. Moreover even if we are reluctant to growing we will begin behaving in ways that would contrats our younger selves. Our brain would involuntarily grow to help us better fit into our environment.
In conclusion it would be pretentious to believe that we were the same person we were years ago.
Yes.
Of course I am.
10 years ago I was 8 years old. I was living in a different city, in a different school, with a different set of friends and likes and dislikes and people in my life. Yes of course every 10 or so years your body's cells are entirely replaced so physically I am a different person, but in terms of me, almost every aspect of me has changed in the last decade.
My understanding of the world has changed. My social circle is entirely different to what it was 10 years ago, my relationships with my family and with people around me has changed, my sense of fashion and music interests have changed. My hair style has changed, my weight has changed, my teeth have changed (braces), and I have grown, so even my appearance is quite different.
There is hardly an aspect of me as an individual I can think of that has remained the same over the last 10 years.
Of course, I’ve changed. In fact, I think I’ve completely changed in the last six months. Each experience in my life tends to completely revamp my outlook on life itself. Joining the IB diploma has been completely changed my priority and developed a different outlook, or rather a lack of outlook, on life. A decade ago I was a shy and 6 years old. I lived in a fortress-like compound in Nigeria. I thought that is was normal to see poverty is such a personal way and the idea of social inequality, which I saw there, clearly impacted my attitude towards those issues. I watched “Blackfish” last year and it radically changed my ideology towards zoo’s and aquariums, six year old me would have never been able to understand these things since I would not have been able to comprehend nor properly understand the issue. And about every 10 years the body's cells are fully replaced, therefore physically I am a different person, and in terms of what makes me, me, almost every aspect has changed in the ten years.
10 years ago I was 7 years old and I was very much different than who I am now. Most obviously, I have drastically changed physically and appearance wise. Puberty changes a lot of aspects of the human body and everybody goes through this change. Puberty not only brings about physical changes but also behavioural and social changes. For example, I used to be very shy and had only a select group of friends, however nowadays I am much more social and I try to make connections with almost everybody in the year group. Over the past 10 years I have changed in terms of openness and risk-taking. Also my view on the world has significantly changed over the past 10 years. When I was 7 years old I lived in Canada and I was completely obliouvious to politics outside of North America. I did not know about poverty, diseases, plagues, terrorism etc. because I was brought up in a country that does have those types of issues. But since I move in Dubai I had the chance to see some of those issues first hand, and school trips such as Week Without Walls has provided me with the opportunities to visit and help communities struck by these issues. This changed my world view and my stance on political issues and policies.
Am I? I like to think I have changed as a person from all the events that have shaped my perspective on people, the world, and life itself. Biologically, we all change obviously. We all have cells that die and are replaced by new ones; does this mean we are entirely a different person? While an interesting debate, we really do not know an answer to that question and it is a essentially a dead end. However, mentally we all have changed. That is quite obvious enough because even nature programs us to have instincts and such, the nurture aspect can suppress those and make us live life differently, making us act differently. Even though our brains develop and our reasoning develop along with that, we all rely heavily on our personal shared knowledge gained from personal experience and identity as well as social norms. Therefore, physically we all change in terms of our physiology. We also change as people as events happen to us that make us think differently.
If what makes me are my knowledge, my physical looks, my personality. Then I have certainly come a long way from the 6 year-old me! I am no longer naive, no longer ‘a princess of Fairytopia’, no longer a cry-baby.
I believe that everyone changes according to their experiences. Experiences and memories change you, build you, into the you reading this today. Especially in this modern world, we are forced to change, to adapt to the accelerating development. Nevertheless, this change is a choice. We can choose to adapt, or stay as we are.
Nevertheless, physical change is not a choice. Biologically we change everyday. Even if a strand of your hair falls, you have changed physically.
All in all, I believe that change is necessary to survive and since we are all surviving, we are constantly changing.
Granted, we all change, some more noticeably than others.
Physically, we’re different. Psychologically, more sharpened. And in every other aspect we can undoubtedly see some difference. Experiences, new learnings, and natural occurrences have pushed us to change.
The question becomes truly clever with how it forces a paradox.
I’ve literally changed. I’m not the same as my 6 year old self. But at the same time, I’m not an entirely different being as that young boy 10 years ago (neither am I one of those shape shifting lizards).
I’m not the exact same person I was 10 years ago, but I’m still the same person. Being “me” doesn’t ever have a finality. I am constantly changing and within all those changes, I am still “me”
My answer is a paradox: I’ve changed but I’m still the same.
To be fair, 10 years ago I was 7.
So physically I probably haven't changed much, my height is pretty much the same. But overall, I am definitely not the same person. As an individual, I used to be much more cranky, whiny and annoying before, and couldn't make up for it with my charisma (since I had none.) As I grew older, experiences and few people helped mold me into a more observant, socially aware person who is comparatively more reasonable and logical. As the person I have definitely changed (for the better) but still people find it hard to believe because i'm still "Medha", it doesn't matter if i'm 6 or 16 to them. So even though I know i'm not the same 'person' I was 10 years ago-if i had a chance to relive some events I would do things differently-others may perceive it differently as they haven't witnessed or noticed all the changes particularly/first hand.
I believe that I have changed in several ways -- physically and mentally -- so I am definitely not the exact same 7 year old kid with sparkles in my eyes and not a care in the world. My experiences, interactions with people, knowledge I have acquired and my own studies have taught me things which changed my perception and approach to certain things. For instance, back when I was a kid, I was one of the most fussiest eaters ever. However, I realized that being picky was not going to help me adapt to my environment and that I would suffer later on. Now, I eat and try almost anything. Similarly, I used to be a complete loner, not bothering to interact with anyone because I thought it to be a waste of time. Now, I have the experience to understand that networking is important, and so I have learnt to easily interact with others, but I also have the option of keeping to myself. In addition, my body has obviously changed physically -- I definitely do not look the same as I did two years ago, let alone ten.
Nevertheless, I cannot say for sure that I have changed completely. Some aspects of what makes me "me" -- such as a few major personality traits -- are still the same. My preference for staying alone than in a group, my hard-working nature and aspirations -- yes, they may have altered in minor ways, become more mature, but the underlying traits that make me "Sakshee" still remain.
Overall, I believe that I was definitely not the same person I was ten years ago, but a more matured, experienced and smarter version of who I was.
Am I the same person? Yes, I am the same person, with the same genes derived from my parents, of the same nationality, same race, with the same memories. Do I look the same I looked like 10 years ago? No. Do I still think the way I used to think 10 years ago? No. Have the experiences that I’ve faced in the past 10 years impacted me? Yes. Immensely. On a larger scale, my entire perception of the world has changed, as well as I have grown physically and mentally. In the past 10 years, I may still have the same identity, but I have changed my social identity, my view on various events, my behaviour, all being impacted by social, cultural, cognitive processes – there is a build on my character, build on the experiences and what I have learned from them. One of the few things to consider is, what is a person – “a human being regarded as an individual”, Yes I am a Human being – biologically, the cells I’m made up of, every single one of them has died and has been replaced, but my genetic make up remains the same. Similar socially, I still have the same culture, nationality, religion I follow, alothugh my perceptions to everything around me has been massively impacted as well as my emotions.
At first glance, the difference between my 17 year old self and my 7 year old self are quite obvious: there’s a marginal, yet definite increase in height, an arguable increase in intelligence, considerably darker circles around the eyes, a different set of friends and an entirely different collection of ideas and beliefs. On the other hands, some things remain the same: family, the skin tone, the name, and the same horrendous work ethic (as the tardy submission for this piece should show). Whether or not I’m the same person as ten years ago, I likely won’t discover from these observations, but it’s sufficient to establish here that, if anything, there have been changes.
The most intuitive answer to this is yes, you are the same person as you were 10 years ago. This idea is supported most strongly (in terms of various ideas of what constitutes one’s personal identity) by the idea of continuity of both the physical body and the mind (or even, if it were your fancy, the soul), the two elements of a person that one could assert have changed, and is better understood in the though experiment known as the Ship of Theseus, wherein the various parts of a ship are slowly replaced until nothing remains from the original ship. The question arises: is this still the same ship? Proponents of the idea of continuity would say yes, it is the same ship and, ergo, yes, you are the same person.
For some, the issue remains that continuity remains an intangible property (while the differences in the person’s physique and psyche are very much tangible) and, within another thought experiment, falls apart. This thought experiment is known as the Teletransportation Paradox, wherein a teleporter that puts you to sleep, scans your body while simultaneously destroying it and recreating it elsewhere malfunctions and fails to destroy your body. Now, there are two of you; if continuity is to be accepted, then both “you”s are the true you, and share your identity and sameness – but if this is the case, the entire purpose of the concept of identity (being some form of transcendental uniqueness) falls apart. The argument follows that if both are not the same as the original, but are equal in their claim (or lack thereof) to be the original, then neither can be the original and, thus, I am not the same as I was 10 years ago.
This has quite interesting implications insofar as human rights and morality are concerned as conventional individualistic standards for both essentially entail that one’s rights and freedoms end where another’s begin, and any further would be an incursion into the other’s freedoms. If, however, the future self is not the same as the present self, this means that the present self could effectively, in the consumption of tobacco for instance, prove a threat to the future self’s health and, thus, could be thought to be infringing upon the future self’s rights and freedoms. This is the idea that’s been put forward by philosophers such as David Hume and Derek Parfit. It’s a confusing concept, and one that is better understood when the analogy of the parent and the child is put forward; the existence and status of the latter is entirely contingent on the former, and so the dependency cannot be eliminated. The parent has a duty of stewardship to the child and, thus, must act in their capacity to the child’s best interests while at the same time being prohibited from infringing on their rights. Swap the word ‘parent’ and ‘child’ in the last few lines with ‘present self’ and ‘future self’ respectively, and the situation that we’re put in by the thought experiment is thus elucidated.
I find it best to answer in a series of questions, each pertaining to its own set of criteria;
Do I look the same I looked like 10 years ago? Im grateful to say I grew 5 inches in the past 10 years, and my cheeks don’t make everyone on the street want to run up to say hello, so no, I look different.
Do I still think the way I used to think 10 years ago? No, im able to really contribute weight to a discussion now, instead of being brushed off as a child.
Have the experiences that I’ve faced in the past 10 years impacted me? Ofcourse, they’ve shaped me into who I am today.
Biologically, my genetic makeup has been untouched. I remain the same biological individual I was 10 years ago, with a constant change in my cells to fresher counterparts. I have changed what I believe in on almost every topic I have ever been sure of. I have physically, mentally and spiritually grown into a bigger person. Ive had the opportunity to impact lives for the better, so im glad to say ive changed for the better.
I think this question relates back to the one about the brain transplant earlier, since they both deal with the notion of identity. Physically, the cells in your body are in a constant state of being replaced constantly. It’s a common misconception that we replace every cell in our body in 10 years, but quite a lot of them will have been changed several times over in a decade. Even on a macro scale, all the anti-aging cream in the world won't stop you from looking different from how you did 10 years ago. Additionally, your brain would have also changed over the years, as you collect new memories, experiences, and skills. That being said, there is the possibility that these changes are merely superficial, and rather than leading to a profoundly new worldview that would constitute being a changes person, you’ve just accumulated a few more memories. Calling that a new person would feel like calling your car new because changed the air freshener. While this scenario might be very likely for someone in their 30s or 40s, I sincerely doubt current me and 7-year-old me would see eye-to-eye on anything other than our eating habits.
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