I Am

Aaron Bruno repeats the refrain "All of these things made me who I am" so often you almost don't pick up on any of the other lyrics. The whole chorus is just variations of that same phrase:

All of these things made me who I am
Maybe all of these things made me who I am
Maybe all of these things made me who I am
And I am
Only looking up when my head’s down
All of these things made me who I am
Maybe all of these things made me who I am
Maybe all of these things made me who I am
And I am
Only looking up when my head’s down

The phrase "I am" leads into the phrase of looking up, just as the soft spoken intro to the song leads into the first verse. As the emotion builds into the chorus it makes Bruno's wide vocals feel triumphant, like "all of these things" weren't so bad after all. Whatever those things are, they shaped him into someone particularly unique.

Gratitude for unique circumstances is easy when you realize that you are who you are largely based on unique circumstances.