Being yourself is extremely challenging when you are in a foreign country. As strange as it sounds, I thought that it would be much easier to be myself in a place where nobody knows me. Here I have no background, no reputation and no history. I have no friends, no family and no companion. I have a clean slate and a blank canvas. There's nothing holding me back. No one to tell me what to do or bring me down to reality. No pressure to be somebody I'm not. Nobody to answer to. No rules to follow. I'm free! I've flown the coop. I've escaped from my cage. I can go anywhere, do anything!

But I can't move...

I'm frozen in fear. I'm afraid of this world that has finally presented itself. All of those years waiting to escape; now that I'm free I can't even flap my wings. I've been institutionalized. Years and years of being in a cage, waiting for the day I can fly away, I can't even move a muscle. That cage was so comfortable, so inviting, so safe. Now that I'm out I don't even know what to do with myself. I don't even know who I am. I'm lost.

Without a history or reputation I should be able to create a new identity. I can draw anything I want. I can freely express myself without having to worry about the consequences.

But there is one problem. I have no paint to express myself. No references to draw upon as inspiration. No experiences from which I can return to. No history that defines me. So who am I in this foreign world?

Your history identifies a person over time. The choices that you make and the way you live your life define who you are and who you always will be. Your experience creates your conscience. No matter where you go, no matter what you do, your conscience will always be there. That little voice in your head tells you what to do and what to think. That voice tells you what to believe and what to say and how to survive...