Who am I really? I often ask myself this question as I journey from one chapter to the next. I live my life from page to page writing new entries daily. Things that were intriguing during the preface seemed to lose their effect somewhere around the second chapter but failed to find replacements. With age and responsibility I have gained maturity as well, but who am I really? One of the biggest struggles I've faced in life is establishing my true identity. Too often I tended to let "what I did" define "who I was." I've even had nicknames that had personalities of their own during different stages of my life. After my collegiate football career ended it was difficult for me to find satisfaction and contentment with where I was career-wise. My entire life to that point had been shaped and molded by my involvement with football. I had opportunities to travel across the country for camps and games, met many famous and influential figures, played in front of thousands of fans weekly and even millions during nationally televised games, and gained enormous support for my music by composing game-day anthems for The University of Southern Miss. But, after it was all said and done I was still left with the question, who am I really? It's taken time for me to understand that just like people come into your life for a reason, season, or a lifetime, so does an experience. My self-satisfaction was tied understanding the purpose for each one of life's turns, and the wisdom to know how to apply the lessons learned. Proverbs 4:7 tells us that "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding." I finally realized that I was taking things that were only meant to serve a particular purpose and trying to make them a permanent fixture in who I am. I had to tell myself, "Jonathan, Don't Lose Yourself Trying To Find Yourself." From a young age I saw the importance of taking the time to "Dress For Success." I figured out what principles I would base every decision on regardless of circumstance: Intergrity, Commitment, Obedience and Nobility. I made the conscious decision to be an ICON. Does this mean that I have my life figured out? No. In all honesty, I still hadn't figured out if I'm even on the right path, but, I do know the answer to the question, "who am I really?"
I'm Jonathan.
