Are you really who you think you are? What would someone do if they found out that they’ve been acting as someone else their entire life? Let’s not say they’ve been playing a role they didn’t even know they were playing, rather, let’s say that they never fully became accustomed to their personality and that’s the reason for them playing the role. It’s not like one would blame them for not knowing themself if it was impossible to. If I told you that there were three parts to your personality and we only consciously used two parts, then technically it would be impossible to completely know yourself, wouldn't it?

The human psyche, or in other words the personality having more than one aspect, is an idea created by a neurologist named Sigmund Freud. In this theory, he explains how the personality has three parts to it, although we only consciously use two of them.

First, the id. This is the primitive part of the personality that acts off of instinctual components from birth. It consists of the natural human being’s instincts such as the sex (life) instinct and the aggressive (death) instinct. This is also the part of the personality that is not actively conscious.

The id is the impulsive part of the psyche which responds directly and immediately to basic urges, needs, and desires. A newborn child is all id and only later does it develop the other two parts of the psyche.

The id remains the same through a person’s life and does not change with time or experience, as it’s not in touch with the external world. Therefore, the id is not affected by reality or logic, as it resides within the unconscious part of the mind.

The id operates on the pleasure-pain principle, which is that the concept every wishful impulse should be satisfied immediately, no matter the consequence. When the id is satisfied, we experience pleasure. When denied, we experience ‘unpleasure’.

The id engages in primary process thinking, which is primitive, illogical, and fantasy-oriented. This form of thinking is completely selfish and wishful in nature.

Next, the ego. The ego helps mediate the id from the real world and is the decision-making component of the personality. The ego works by reason, whereas the id is chaotic and unreasonable. The ego has a realistic approach to the world, working out realistic ways of satisfying the id’s demands, often compromising with the id to avoid negative societal consequences. The ego considers social realities and norms, etiquette, and rules in choosing the way to behave.

Unlike the id, the ego cares about devising a sensible strategy to get pleasure. Something simply may be good if the ego ends up completing something without causing harm to itself or the id.

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Freud once made an analogy about the id and ego being like a man on horseback, with the ego being the rider and the id being the horse. If the rider fails in its goals to control the horse, the horse could go out of control and do something unpleasant.

Rather than primary thinking like the id, the ego engages in secondary process thinking, which is rational and realistic towards problem-solving. If the first plan doesn't work then the ego will think something up until a solution is found.

Last, the super-ego. This is the other active part of the personality. This acts as the moral conscience in your psyche. It incorporates the values and morals of society which are learned from one’s parents and others. Its function is to keep the id’s impulses in check, the impulses society looks down upon, such as aggression and lustful desires. The super-ego also functions to persuade the ego to make more moralistic decisions rather than realistic ones. You could compare the super-ego and the id to the philosophical angel and devil on each shoulder, influencing your actions.

The super-ego has two systems to it: The conscience, and the ideal self. The conscience can punish the ego by causing feelings such as guilt. If the ego happens to give in to the id’s demands, the conscious will make the person feel bad through guilt. The ideal self on the other hand, is an imaginary picture of how you ought to be and represents things such as how you treat others and how you act as a member of society. The conscience and ideal self are largely determined based on your values and how you were raised.

The three parts of the personality are often compared to an iceberg. The part of the ice above water (the conscious personality) isn't nearly as large as the part submerged underwater. The ice above water has the ego and the super-ego, while a part of the iceberg underwater contains the id. The super-ego takes up about half of the iceberg while the ego and id take up an even fourth of the other half. Although the super-ego has a very large portion of the iceberg, most all of the iceberg above water consists of the ego.

Although it’s almost absolutely impossible, if a normal human-being were to disrupt the three parts of the personality, what would happen? Would they lose their mind? Possibly go off the deep end? What if I told you that a person had the ability to alter the parts of their personality at will? Think about how the future of technology could evolve with an abnormality like this. Things we think are nearly impossible could become realities.

Even though the idea that we humans only use about ten percent of our brain is a lie, the concept of willfully changing our personalities could lead to countless upgrades in modern-day science...

I would’ve never thought that I’d finally get the chance to test out my theory. Ever since the day you were born, I knew you were special. The memories we’ve all shared together, the many secrets in between us, it’s all been for a reason. Also, I promise you that your scar won’t be for nothing. Although I haven’t seen you in what feels like forever, I’m sure we will meet again. But for that to happen, you have to take it from here. We’ve started it, now you're the one who must finish it. It has to be you. It can only be you.

You’re the only one that can do this.

I just hope this is interesting enough for you, Kole.