There are many ways to conceive of what a human being is, and the definition of such will vary depending on who you ask, be it a scientist, or a religious man, or just the average person the street. For myself (and I would never claim to be correct in this assertion, just a matter of opinion), I believe that human beings can be defined by their unique capacity for creation and learning. These are the characteristics of being human that I most hold dear, although my behavior and actions perhaps don’t always reflect these. Indeed, I feel that my capacity to engage in these activities which help me feel most human has been sabotaged over the years. I remember as a young child, I couldn’t get enough of reading. I wanted and needed to absorb as much knowledge as I possibly could. It was like a compulsion, and I always remember my mum telling everyone we met that I ‘always had my nose in a book’. I still enjoy reading now, but certainly not to the extent to which I did back then. Of course, other priorities start to become intermingled as you grow up. I also feel that my ability to engage in creative pursuits was far superior back then. I loved to draw, write stories and I could daydream for hours. Nowadays, my propensity and drive for creative action seems to have been diluted. However, I feel that this is largely because my attention has been diverted for too long into other pursuits, partly as a result of the natural order of things. For example, once I entered high school, it became clear that the next few years of my life should be dedicated to studying so that I can get into a good school, following which I can get a good job. Therefore, most of my free time was spent studying and readying myself for exams, and I let my other interests fall to the wayside. I was struck by terrible depression during those years that then followed me as I went through university, and I still feel that I deal with the lingering effects to this day. However, I do believe that an aspect of what caused this depression was this disconnect between myself and my core values. I feel that my soul was deprived of its desire to learn and create for so long that it forgot how to even do these things in the first place. But now, I can feel that it is knocking on the door of my heart and waiting to burst out. I can’t shove it down any longer - I must let it come out. I feel that my hunger to learn, to write, to think, to observe and most importantly, to create, has reached a bursting point, such that I cannot put a lid on the explosion, such as to risk the blast being diverted internally, for which the consequences would be disastrous. However, there is a part of me that is scared. I feel there are so many thoughts that I have bottled up for years that now seek an outlet, but this means that I must feel them and process them. And yet, I also realize that I have no choice in the matter now. It’s all making me feel so crazy. And this, I am now realizing, is why it is so scary and perhaps why I pushed away my desire to create and learn for so many years, for the whole thing is not without such dangers. For one has to be truly daring to face this world with the desire to create, to learn, to love and to think, with the knowledge that it could destroy them. Indeed, I believe that society, and others, and the media (especially social media) continually try to dampen such spirit. To think in such a way, society will tell you that it is unproductive, unrealistic and impractical. Others, such as your friends and family, will think you are crazy and are quick to judge. The media (especially social media) will try to keep you scared. It will keep you just entertained enough, so that you no longer have to think for yourself, or examine the contents of your heart and mind, and to dare to show that to the world. But, without realizing, I have grown strong in my conviction. In the face of what they try to tell me; I now choose to trust my own heart. I choose not to believe what they say and instead think for myself. I choose not to fall for the allure of cheap thrills and quick fixes, but to truly face myself and find the peace and contentment that I know exists deep within myself. For each of us has a piece of heaven within us, and as such, each of us has a touch of divinity. We only need to reach out and grab it.