One of the most important things to do in life – and also, unfortunately, one of the hardest things to do in life – is to figure out who you are. Everything else that’s good about being alive – expressing your passion, excelling at work you enjoy, finding friends who understand you, learning to love and be loved – all of that stems from first figuring out who you are and becoming comfortable with your place in the world. I suspect that this is something you have to work at more or less continually throughout your life, from the moment you first experiment with a goth or punk stage in your early teenage years, all the way through to your final achy, forgetful days, when you have to prove your value in a youth-obsessed society that says you no longer have any.