The Power of Knowing Yourself: What is Self Awareness?

Imagine you’re at your high school reunion. It’s been about 15 years since you last saw your peers from school. A former classmate of yours comes up and says “Wow! You’re a professor at a university now? That’s awesome. You’ve really come a long way since your high school years, eh?” Your ex-teacher chimes in too. “Yes! You’ve changed a lot. I’m so proud of you!” You flash an awkward smile but internally wonder, “what does that mean? What was wrong with me back in the day? Was I that different? Did I really change?” 

This is what many would call a lack of self-awareness. But what exactly is self-awareness? And how does one become more self-aware?