What are you?

If I were to press a gun to your head and force you to answer this in 3 seconds, how would you answer: "What are you?"

There was a period of time when I would say 'I am a gamer'. That was when I was spending hours grinding out games of Starcraft 2, trying to climb the ladder to Masters league (and I did). That was when I spent hours raiding in World of Warcraft. Would I want to be a 'gamer' again? I would love to be. But my circumstances don't allow it. Now I play 1 or 2 games of League of Legends, ARAM mode every night. Some nights I don't play. I used to play a bit of Hearthstone, but now I've got semi-bored of it. I can't really say I'm a 'gamer' anymore.

How about the question 'What are your hobbies?'

One or two months ago I went for a course which had participants in their thirties and forties. As part of the icebreakers, the trainer asked everyone to share their hobbies. A recurring theme was 'I used to do XX, but now that I have a kid... my kid is my hobby lor'.

This is kind of sad isn't it? When I think about myself, I used to play bball regularly, I used to game regularly, I used to watch many tv shows regularly. But now as work has begun, everything has to be done in moderation, and it can't be as frivolous as before. After I get married or have a kid, everything is going to change again. I will lose my hobbies. And gain a new one I guess.

Our identities seems to be shaped by our circumstances. Which makes it kind of strange, as you would think 'you' should be fairly constant, and you are just adapting to the circumstances. But it really isn't. 'You' just changes, along with everything around you.

What are you? I guess 'you' is a product of your innate personality blended with your current circumstances. And at present, I am a humble civil servant who is fairly content with his job, who plays the occasional games and watches the occasional show, who goes to the gym regularly in hopes of bulking up. I am also the boyfriend of my girlfriend who enjoys spending time with her and seeing her smile, I am also the friend of my friends who enjoys spending quality time with them and forging bonds that will hopefully last forever.