One of the things that I love about writing, and reading other people’s writing, is that sometimes all that it takes is one sentence or even one word to hit a spark right to the heart – as if this writer was reading your mind. That happened to me tonight …
It’s a Tuesday evening, I had plans after work (but I kind of got blown off by a really hot guy), I ended up at home on the couch – just me and my trusted feedly (blogs). I have this folder of fellow brazen bloggers in my reader, a folder filled with special people (very few make the cut). Ironically this is my favorite group of blogs to catch up on, but some how it’s also the group I get behind on most quickly.
This occurs for two reasons –
1) if I only have a few minutes to sit down and read, I usually pick something that won’t require much time (ie swiss miss).
2) the people who “make” this folder are quite brilliant (if I do say so myself) and they tend to write long/thought provoking posts.
I digress … so I was reading Taking a Year To Be by the brilliant, and lovely, Holly Hoffman when one particular sentence jumped out at me.
Who am I if not a ladder-climbing employee, a twenty-something entrepreneur, a moonlighting freelancer, The Person in Town Who Knows About That, a woman on the make?
I had the pleasure of staying in a hotel room and spending 5 days at SXSW (*tear) with miss Holly. During our random conversations and discussions about the panels I discovered that Holly and I have a thing or two, or five, in common. So, it shouldn’t surprise me that in this very post Holly was transcribing the thoughts that have been rolling around in my brain for the past few months.
Who am I if not …
- a gen y blogger
- that graphic design girl
- that girl who spoke at that conference
- that girl who twitters at 3 am
- that girl who wears pink
- that who used to date that guy
- that girl who loves to sing
- that girl who designed that one website
I’ve recently (June 1) started a new job and I’ve been wanting to write about the fact that having a whole new job title has sent me into a bit of an identity crisis. But, I didn’t know where to start or even have the words, but now I do “who am I if not …” my job title.
Many people experience their twenties of a time of discovering and recreating just exactly who they are – for some people it’s fun and for others it’s scary. I choose to be excited by the fact that I can change the answer to the question “who am I” ever 5 minutes if I want.
I love this and I think it all boils down to your last paragraph. “I choose to be excited by the fact that I can change the answer to the question “who am I” every 5 minutes if I want.” It’s beautiful. Sometimes the lack of boundaries and freedom can be daunting, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. We’re constantly reinventing ourselves and I think it’s beautiful to embrace.
Thanks for writing this. Great thoughts :)
Yay! You of all people know that resonating with one person with one of your posts is a joy unlike any other.
I struggle with this. The desire to maintain a certain identity can make you take actions that aren’t actually aligned with your real goals. My current struggle is really with The Person in Town Who Knows About That. What lengths do you go to in order to maintain that? And what point do you realize that the path to your goals isn’t the path of The Person in Town Who Knows About That?
Like I always say, sometimes it’s just good to know you’re not alone. ;)
Would love to see who makes your cut for brilliant bloggers. Always looking for new, thoughtful, relatable reads.
Beyond being scared of losing “who you are if not…” is the massive amounts of time and discovery it can take to figure out what that “who” is. For most, if we stop long enough to reflect and try to figure it out, we might not like the answer we get. It’s hard enough trying to pinpoint it, it’s even scarier if we realize we don’t like what we see.
I think we’re constantly defined by what our careers are…notice that’s the main thing people ask you when you first meet? Then again, it’s fun to be reminded that we’re SO much more than how we pay our bills.Thanks! :o)