Meanings
- I am as I must be; I cannot be changed; I can't help the way I am.
I am what I am and I am U.S. American
1983 [1981], Rosario Morales, edited by Cherríe Maraga, Gloria Anzaldúa, This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, New York: Kitchen Table, "I Am What I Am", page 123 more examples
For Jacob's God and Peter's Saviour Utters above each circumstance—"I am what I am"
1907, M. A. Chaplin, Chimes for the Times, London: Farncombe & Son, Gospel Chimes: "I Am That (What) I Am", page 22The Apostle said that he was 'not worthy to be called an apostle because he persecuted the Church of God', but he goes on to add: 'But by the grace of God I am what I am'. What does it matter what I was? 'I am what I am.'
1965, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, pages 65, 66Popeye said, "I am what I am, that is all that I am, I am Popeye the sailorman." I like that. Somehow, we have to incorporate this concept throughout our lives. I am important because I am what I am.
1974, Melvin White, Barriers to Health Care for Older Americans: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Health of the Elderly of the Special Committee on Aging, United States Senate, Part 10, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, Statement of Dr. Melvin White, Director, Rocky Mountain Gerontological Center at the University of Utah, page 1025
Cite this entry
I am what I am. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/I%20am%20what%20I%20am
“I am what I am.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/I%20am%20what%20I%20am. Accessed November 5, 2026.
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