My name is Megan, which means pearl

But, it fails to define who I am, as a girl

My last name, my family name, I was from birth assigned

But who I am inside, by this is not defined

So I have dark and curly hair

Should I take great pains to compare...

As if my being resides on the surface...

No, physical appearance is completely worthless!

I love to cook and use food creatively

But a batch of cookies cannot define me

Songs I sing music I plan

But skills don't add up at the end of the day

My talent is a part of me, yes that is true

However clever, for that I'm no better; I cannot be defined by what I do

Pizzazz! Spice! Bling!

My emotions from the lowest to highest notes ring

Exuberance and charisma construct my personality

But is my defining element a simple touch of vibrancy?

No, my emotions however bright

Don't give any height to who I am... at night

When it's dark and no one's looking

When I'm stripped of skills like music and cooking

When my name is not known and my hair can't be seen

When my words can't be heard when emotions no longer gleam...

Is my past the definer of my very being?

Does the pain I have lived through count - for anything?

My words were deceptive, my tears too often shed

When I starved my body and refused to be fed

Long dark days steeped in depression

Distanced me from family and kept me from confession

I ignored the dry of my body breaking down

I refused to see the damage my sick mind had allowed

Does this past define who I am?

Who I was, is... Who I am...?

No, my personal history moves on much too fast

For the heart of my being to be held in the past

The story of impossible standards was mine to learn

I paid a destructive price for perfection that I could never earn...

But someone else earned it for me.

The core of who I am rests in who I belong to

The person I am today only exists because of someone who...

Chose to earn perfection... for me

Chose to live and die... for me

Chose to make the ultimate sacrifice... for me

All my different attributes I have described do contribute to who I am

But they only fall short of my soul's ultimate plan

I am not defined by my first or last name

I am not defined by my past's empty shame

I am not defined by what I can do or what I can't

I am not confined to how I look or how I act

I am blessed to confess that who I am rests

In the hands of who I belong to

So my question to you?

Not: 'Who are you,' but 'Whose are you'?