We see people every day. We watch them make choices we don’t understand. We judge behaviors that seem illogical, cruel, or careless. And in those split seconds of observation, we create entire stories about who they are.

But what if we’re wrong?

What if the person speeding past you isn’t reckless, but racing to reach their dying parent? What if the colleague who seems cold and distant isn’t heartless, but protecting themselves from another betrayal? What if the student who appears unmotivated isn’t lazy, but drowning in circumstances you can’t see?

Who Am I is a collection of stories about the gap between who we are and who the world thinks we are. Each story follows a real or imagined life, revealing the internal dialogue that no one hears, the constraints that no one sees, and the pain that no one acknowledges.

These are stories about:

• The wounded being labeled as dangerous
• The overwhelmed being dismissed as incompetent
• The protective being judged as cold
• The exhausted being seen as lazy

Some of these stories will help you feel seen. Others will crack open your perspective and invite you to judge less quickly, to ask more questions, to remember that everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.

Because the truth is, we’re all asking the same question in different ways: Who am I, really? And more importantly: Will anyone take the time to find out?

Welcome to Who Am I. These are the stories of the misunderstood, the misjudged, and the unseen.

Each story stands alone, but together they remind us of a simple truth: there’s always more to the story.