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I'm currently in the middle of reading this one magazine feature, and I came across this sentence --
" [...] 多くの方にも認めてもらえるような。そのために、"個" としての自分をもっともっと磨いていきたいですね。”
I know that "個" is kanji for a generic counter, but I've never encountered it being used on its own in a sentence before.
「個{こ}」, in this context, means "an individual (as an independent existence)" as opposed to a member/component of a group or society.
Thus, 「"個" としての自分{じぶん}をもっともっと磨{みが}いていきたい」 means:
"I wish to keep improving my skills as an individual"
or simply
"I wish to keep becoming a better person"
This 「個」 is quite often used when talking about oneself (or another person) in a philosophical manner. 「個人{こじん}」 would be a synonym even though 「個」 sounds more philosophical.
In this case 個 represents 'an individual', as in:
I want to be more individual.
