Have you ever wondered why you are you and not somebody else? I'm not talking about nature and nurture but rather a deeper question that I have thought about often.
When I wake up in the morning I wonder why I am me. There are about 7 billion people on earth now and it would be so easy to be someone else. I mean, here I am with my own individual past, desires for the future, beliefs, values, and feelings. I'm looking out of two windows called eyes and see other people but I can't feel their feelings or sense their thoughts.
I have a sense of self that has never gone away. Although I am older, and hopefully wiser, I still have the feeling that I am me. Biology tells us that we are not the same person we were 10 or even 5 years ago. Cells are constantly dividing - new cells are replacing old and dying cells. When I look at a picture of myself when I was 12, 20, or even 30 years old it doesn't look like me, yet I feel the same. Why am I me and why are you you?
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