Who am I? What words can accurately describe a human being? I am agod and a mortal. I am a prince and a pauper, a genius and a dullard. I am earth, wind, fire and water. I amhuman.

I am a god; an omnipotent being with the power to create and destroy as I see fit in my ownuniverse. In this existence, all things fear me for my power, yet love me for my compassion. I am aflawless entity, incapable of error. Mistakes are foreign to me. I am Zeus reigning over my privateOlympus.

I am a man, a mere mortal bound by the restrictions of this physical existence: I amsimply a conglomeration of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and all other elements, combined together by a seriesof accidents in a random universe. I have unlimited potential coupled with limited ability. I will aspire to bethe best, but will only be what my body will allow. I am an imperfect organism who strives for theimpossible. The drive for an unattainable goal will push me to improve myself to the limits of my feeblemind and body and will keep me going when I fall.

I am a prince. I am one who is ruled by none, andcan do as I please within the mortal realm. I am endowed with the riches of knowledge and love treasuresunsurpassed by gold and jewels. I possess the sage's fortune, and will spend it so that I may forge ahead inmy quest for success.

I am a pauper, lowly serf doomed to walk the Earth as a slave to the rigorsof society. I will work for most of my life, regretting what I have not done in the past. I will labor for aneternity, striving for the apex of my potential, yet wishing I could stop and relax. I will be caught in life,tossed, bounced, dashed against the stones and nearly killed by the force of a worker's existence. I will,however, emerge - bruised, battered, yet stronger and wiser. The wisdom of the ages will have penetratedmy mind, body and soul. It will be up to me to pass it on.

I am a genius. I hold intelligence thatallows me to conquer whatever career I wish to pursue. The broad spectrum of facts, figures, formulas andforeign phrases I have absorbed from years of schooling has opened doors. Now I must choose what portalthrough which to pass.

I am a dullard, a moron ignorant of the ways of the world. My foolishteenage ways and ideas are no match for the gauntlet of life. They offer no armor against the assault I willendure as I proceed through life. My only hope is to supplement what I have learned thus far with what I willlearn in the future. This way, I may be able to survive.

I am earth, wind, fire and water, a uniqueyet ironically universal being. I have a distinct personality, mannerisms that are common to none, and amind that no one, not even I, has been able to penetrate. I am all of this, and yet I am the same as everyoneelse. I am part of a universe that is slowly falling apart. All things are made of the same protons, neutronsand electrons that were present when time began. The energy that caused the Big Bang, and the extinctionof the dinosaurs is present in all of us today. Isn't it ironic that the energy you use to live may be the finalstraw that causes the sun to supernova and destroy the solar system? Or maybe it will fuel a scientist athousand years in the future, and this scholar will find the solution for a great problem faced by hurnanity.However you look at it, it comes down to this: for all the diversity of not only the human race but allthings, living and dead, we are still the same.

The last thing that I am is myself. I am an Olympian;a sprinter poised at the starting line, waiting for the gun. The muscle of my mind is twitching withanticipation as I prepare to dash into the danger and opportunity of the world.