Who am I? I am the result of 4 billion years of evolution. I am trillions of individual cells working together in perfect harmony. I am but one part of a 7 billion piece jigsaw puzzle. I am Sundeep Bath, but that in itself is not interesting. I find that who a person is cannot be found in a birth certificate, nor in a resume or biography, but is hidden beneath all the flesh and bone. Who a person is is too complex for any individual to understand. It is in the crevices of the human mind, heart, and soul that we find who someone truly is. As you venture deeper in the mind of someone, you find that they are not what you see from the outside. In one’s mind is where one can truly be themselves. In one’s mind is where one can find out who they are. Looking back at my childhood, I don’t find it strange that I am who I am today. As a wee little lad in elementary school, I always had great grades. I was enrolled for the TAG, Talented and Gifted Program, testing in second grade, but fell short by .1% (Small failure didn’t stop there, as I missed out on a Geophysical Science test-out by 1 question).
I was never far from a friend I could socialize with. From my teachers’ perspectives, I imagine it would get frustrating when that one kid never stops talking, but then turns around and gets an A on every test. Every report I receive in Elementary School said “Good student, but socializes too much.” As I shared these with my parents, I would laugh it off and think to myself, “I don’t talk that much.”
However, even though I always had a large group of friends, I was never a ‘popular’ kid. There was always that group of kids that were inherently alpha. Meanwhile, I have always been more likely to shy away from confrontation rather than get in someone’s face. I suppose this is a trait that has its ups and downs. It has clearly become my go-to reaction when faced with conflict to avoid it at all costs, which could be a good or bad thing, depending on the circumstances.
Sports were never my forte. My parents wanted to drill into my head that school was the only gateway to success, and I never questioned that belief. Still, one must be physically active as a child to remain healthy, so I bounced around different sports, trying to find one I liked. Soccer is the biggest sport in the world, so naturally I tried that first. That idea quickly came to waste. At this point in my life, I was taller than those around me, so I tried my hand at basketball. A 5 day camp brought an end to that dream. I slowly struck down more and more sports until one fateful day, my neighbor invited me to join his flag football league. Hesitant, I joined, and quickly discovered that this was the sport for me. Everything about this sport was so beautiful to me; the quarterbacks and their pinpoint accuracy, the giant, hulking lineman, guarding the quarterback like a shield. It appealed to me in a way no other hobby or activity ever had, or has yet. I loved this game, and nothing would ever change that. 3 years later, in 8th grade, I was still in the same league with the same neighbor. My skills had grown exponentially. From being afraid of the ball, to getting touchdown catches and being the best defender on