Have you found yourself?

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

Yes

No

Other (comment below)

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

I'm not sure. I went with "no". For me, it's a lifelong journey of self-discovery. I see it as an ideal to discover who I am, not something that I'll ever accomplish.

Just the other day there was a Q on here asking us whether we prefer mashed potatoes with gravy over macaroni and cheese and why we prefer one to theother. I knew I prefer mashed potatoes and gravy but I didn't know why.

A possibility I've found is that animal fats tend to fill me up really quickly. For example, I'm the only one in my friend group who isn't a fan of Wagyu steaks (even the highest grade) so much despite their popularity here in Japan. I'm more of a USDA prime type of steak guy. I actually like things on the leaner side with less fat and enjoy some chewiness, not melt-in-the-mouth tender, but most of all I think very fatty animal products fill me up faster than most people and so I can only enjoy the smallest portions.

That might be the case for me with Mac & Cheese. I start to quickly get sick of the cheese. If I just have a very teeny portion like a 2-3 tablespoons full, I'm good, but most of the portions I get are usually too much and I get sick of it.

On the flip side, gravy is pretty fatty too so it might not be the actual reason. Yet the ratio of gravy to potato seems lower than cheese to macaroni. I'm really not sure.

Another possible pattern is that I do enjoy foods very rich in potassium, starting with potatoes but also avocados, pomegranates, spinach, tomatoes, legumes, and so forth. They're some of my favorite foods and I enjoy potatoes in all their varieties (with the exception of sweet potatoes; I'm not the biggest fan of sweet potatoes or sweet foods in general): baked, mashed, fried, etc (with the exception of potato chips; I'm not a big fan of potato chips either, perhaps because a lot of the fiber content is lost).

Yet that made me even more confused because I seem to love potassium-rich foods but not potato chips and sweet potatoes so much. Why's that?

So I was thinking about writing a computer program to help me figure this out (I'm a software dev by trade) using data mining techniques like K-Means Clustering. If I input all my favorite foods and their nutritional values and perhaps even flavor profiles, I might be able to find patterns through the centroids and figure out the exact reasons why I enjoy things like mashed potatoes and gravy more than mac & cheese.

Yet that might still miss some key variables like texture and maybe even my childhood experiences growing up which might bias me towards certain foods.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

One of the things that appeals to me about this site is that I've discovered some things about myself through the help of other people. Also just thinking out loud and trying to figure myself can be a useful exercise to me sometimes even though I'm still so hung up on why I prefer mashed potatoes and gravy over mac & cheese still and also now confused by I don't like sweet potatoes and potato chips. Does anyone see a possible reason, like a disruption to a certain pattern?

[DJB72]

I didn't realise I was missing...

[Bilboes]

I think, you don’t find yourself, you build yourself. It’s the reason we crave for many varied experiences in childhood and throughout adulthood. And it helps us find the direction in which we want build our life.

And the good news is that there are many “selves” that one person can build toward. We keep trying to find new directions to build into.

[Insecure2]

I think there is no such things as finding yourself. People just try different things until they decide that this is what they were scratching for, be IT a family, a new job, hobby, religion, etc.

[petitedollbabee]

Yes, though I’m expecting to lose this version of myself very soon, and not find my ‘new’ self for a couple years.

[elaphe]

Why will you lose the current version of yourself?

[laly520]

I did n its peaceful since then

[OtterMan68]

I didn't know I was supposed to be looking

[LavLavLuv]

Hell yea