“THIS IS WHO I AM” BY CELESTE: A CHRISTIAN APOLOGIST PERSPECTIVE

The song “This is Who I Am” by Celeste Epiphany Waite is a beautiful work of art. Enriched with both poetic and musical features, it includes a rich mix of devices such as imagery, contrast, and symbolism. The theme of the song — centering on self-identity, resilience, and acceptance with the repeated declaration “This is who I am” — becomes an anthem of self-affirmation, almost like a manifesto against social pressure.

The tone of the song swings between vulnerability and boldness; while the songwriter admits weakness, confusion, or pressure, she affirms her essence without apology. This makes it deeply relatable in a world where people are constantly pressured to fit into molds not designed for them.

While we may not be able to enter Celeste’s mind to know exactly what she intended, we can work with the lyrics. On one hand, the song provides a needed pushback against societal conformity that pressures people into living fake lives. On the other hand, without a transcendent anchor, such a declaration can slide into indulgence — affirming not only one’s essence but also one’s flaws, weaknesses, and sins without any commitment to growth or transformation.

From a Christian Apologist perspective, this is where the gospel differs sharply from the cultural zeitgeist. The gospel begins with the acknowledgment of who we are — but it does not leave us there. God accepts us as we are, but never intends to leave us as we are.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, KJV).

While culture celebrates static authenticity, the gospel celebrates dynamic transformation. Authenticity is the starting point, but sanctification is the journey. In Christ, we don’t simply chant “This is who I am,” we proclaim “This is who I am becoming.”

The Danger of Indulgent Authenticity

The cultural mantra “Take me as I am” is not new. Since the mid-20th century, especially during the rise of postmodern thought and the self-esteem movement of the 1960s–70s, the West has leaned heavily into self-this and self-that philosophies — self-expression, self-acceptance, self-definition. By the 1990s and into the early 21st century, this evolved into the dominance of the self-help industry, where improvement often meant indulging self rather than crucifying it.

C.S. Lewis once wrote, “The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become — because He made us. It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.” (Mere Christianity).

That’s the paradox: in insisting “This is who I am” apart from God, we may be clinging not to our true selves but to broken versions marred by sin.

Without Christ, self-affirmation can become:

• An excuse for toxic patterns (anger, pride, addiction).

• A justification for entitlement (expecting others to absorb our flaws).

• A roadblock to growth (since change requires humility and surrender).

But in Christ, self-affirmation finds its rightful place. As John Stott wisely put it, “The Christian’s freedom is freedom not to indulge the flesh, but freedom to serve.”

Scripture does not deny individuality but reframes it in light of Christ.

• “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…” (Romans 12:2, KJV).

• “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…” (Galatians 2:20, KJV).

This is the crux: the Christian life is not about staying as I am but about becoming who Christ has redeemed me to be. Authenticity without sanctification is indulgence; authenticity surrendered to Christ is discipleship.

Beyond “This is Who I Am”

Celeste’s song captures the ache of modern humanity — the need to resist crushing social pressure and affirm one’s worth. But the Christian apologetic response must point higher:

• Yes, this is who I am — broken, weak, limited.

• But by God’s grace, this is not who I will remain.

True self-identity is not self-invented; it is God-bestowed. True freedom is not in self-indulgence, but in Christ-likeness.

Ravi Zacharias once said, “Jesus Christ did not come to make bad people good, but to make dead people live.”

As our world today is now full of “self-this” and “self-that,” the Christian message calls us to “Christ-in-me,” the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). That is the sounder anthem: not “This is who I am,” but “This is who I am becoming in Christ.”

Appendix – Lyrics of This is Who I Am by Celeste Epiphany Waite

Some flowers never get to bloom and see the day

Some flowers are content to wish their lives away

Some may rise and some may fall

But only you may ever see me true

So only you can tell that this is who I am

This is who I am

And you know me like a river knows how to flow

My body is the story you were always told

The sun may rise, the sun may fall

But only you may ever see me true

So only you can tell that this is who I am

This is who I am

Send the white horses

Seems I've exhausted

Those fickle games I play

Seen my good fortune made

For only you may ever see me true

So only you can tell them this is who I am

This is who I am

This is who I am

This is who I am

No lie, I'm no less

This is who I am

This is who I am

Sunrise to sunset

This is who I am

Source: Musixmatch