I had always believed that for a man to be truly wise and to know all things around him, he must first know what is inside of him. I now think that this is perhaps untrue.

I've also always believed that to be wise one must question everything. I held this especially true when dealing with myself. What do I want to be when I "grow up?" What really are my hobbies and interests and why? What is it about me that makes me feel so different from everyone I know?

I'd always thought that I would find answers to these questions someday and that I would then be happy because I'd know myself. Now that I'm in college and I guess I need to decide who I am, (what's going to make me happy for the rest of my life?) I still can't find answers to these questions! It has been more than a little upsetting.

I recently had a revelation with the help of Socrates and a professor. One cannot simply ask questions in his youth and be forced to find answers in a small period of time (like college), answers that he will stick with for the rest of his life! And not just because he is much too young to make such decisions. A truly wise man would question everything always - his entire life. Socrates said (and I agree) that a wise man knows that/what he doesn't know. Well of course this would apply even to one's self! I just never realized that!

It's not as bad as I once thought. Since I always question myself, I know I'll never settle for anything less than I want. I'll never settle with a dead end job because I'll always be changing! Also, maybe the people that think they know themselves don't really know at all. Maybe someday something terrible will happen and they will lose faith in who they are, while I'll be safer because I questioned all along.

If one really should know one's self, then maybe I finally do. What I mean is that I finally realized that I am the type of person who will always question everything, especially when it comes to myself. So in my specific case, knowing myself means knowing that I will never know myself!