We are our souls just wearing a body. Just as you would chose a vehicle to drive. You are not the vehicle, but the driver. The soul incarnated into the body that will best serve the souls purpose in this lifetime. On the other side, we can take on any form that we choose. If a person dies in a horrible crash, the soul is not going to appear on the "other side" in that condition; it will appear as the person it was until it adjusts to being in spirit form again.