I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.

In the grand theater of life, where every soul plays a part, there are moments when we must cast aside the masks we once wore and reveal the truth beneath. Mae West, that figure of audacious charm and unapologetic wit, once said, “I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.” This single sentence speaks volumes, for in its playful deflection, there is a profound reflection on the nature of identity, change, and the inexorable flow of time. It is the shift from innocence to experience, from the purity of a fixed path to the complexity of self-discovery.

In the ancient world, heroes were often defined by their roles in life, by the identities they chose to embrace—whether as warriors, philosophers, or kings. But in the midst of their grand quests and battles, there was always the shadow of self-doubt, the haunting question: Who am I truly? Consider the great Odysseus, who, after a decade of war, spent yet another decade wandering the seas, not only seeking his way home but searching for the essence of his true self. His journey was not just across physical lands, but across the labyrinth of his own soul, where the identities he had worn—king, warrior, lover—began to drift and blur as he faced the winds of time and change.

Mae West, in her own way, speaks to this same struggle. The image of Snow White, the epitome of purity, innocence, and virtue, was the mask she once wore, a role forced upon her by the expectations of society. But as she walked through life, experiences piled upon experiences, and the winds of freedom and individualism led her to a point where the idealized image of who she once was no longer fit her. She drifted, as all souls must, toward a more complex, authentic self. In that moment of drifting, she cast aside the trappings of innocence and embraced the full breadth of humanity, with all its contradictions, flaws, and beauty.

This drifting is no new phenomenon. Sophocles, in his Oedipus Rex, explored the idea of fate and identity—how a man might strive to escape the destiny that seems to bind him, only to find that his very efforts to avoid it bring him closer to its fulfillment. Oedipus, despite all his intelligence and ambition, could not escape his true self. He too was a victim of drifting, of forces beyond his control, until the truth of his identity was revealed in the most devastating of ways. Yet, in this revelation, there is also wisdom, for only when we face the fullness of who we are—both light and shadow—can we truly live.

Mae West’s words also speak to the greater theme of growth. To "drift" is not merely to wander aimlessly, but to evolve. The person we were at the beginning of life is never the person we remain. Just as the river changes its course with the seasons, so too does the soul. The child born into this world will inevitably become the adult, the innocent one will be forged by experience, and the role we once played will shift into something new. We must not fear this drift, but rather embrace it, for it is in this evolution that we find our true strength.

The lesson here is clear: life is not about clinging to a single, fixed identity, but rather about allowing oneself to be transformed by the experiences that come. We must shed the roles that no longer serve us, and like Mae West, take ownership of our evolving selves, understanding that to drift is not to lose one’s way, but to find new paths. It is a celebration of our ability to adapt, to redefine who we are as the seasons of our lives change.

So, let us take this wisdom into our own lives. Do not fear the drift. If you find yourself moving away from the person you once thought you would be, celebrate it. Recognize that in this drifting, you are becoming something more authentic, more aligned with the truth of who you are at this very moment. Allow yourself the freedom to evolve, to take on new identities as they arise, and to shed old ones without regret. For in this fluidity lies the essence of a life well-lived—not bound by the limitations of the past, but ever-growing, ever-reaching toward the future.

In the end, as we drift, we must remember: it is not the end of our journey that defines us, but the journey itself. Embrace the ebb and flow of life, and let it shape you into the person you are meant to be. Just as Mae West embraced her drift from innocence to self-assurance, so too must we embrace our own evolution—knowing that the most powerful and authentic identity is one that is constantly becoming, never fixed, never stagnant.