In my last job, I had the opportunity to go to conferences, classes and functions on a fairly steady basis. On Tuesday, I went to my first industry related function for my new job. I'm naturally a shy person...but my last job had me in front of new people ALL the time. That I fell out of that "muscle memory" so to speak made me surprised a bit about how nervous I got.
To make matters worse, one of my co-workers was one of the two speakers for the night and he made the group go through the exercise of sharing three things about ourselves that are non-work related.
Sounds simple and innocuous, right? Don't ask me how or why...but it made me start thinking about how people define themselves. About how I define myself.
I shared that:
I listened intently as people shared about themselves. After all, if you can find something in common - it gives you an opening to start a conversation. The labels that were most utilized were: husband/wife and mother/father.
I felt a little like a failure. I'm neither a wife or mother. Trust me - I wish I was both! (If you happen to see my Mr. Right...send him my way! I've been waiting a LONG time.) If you had asked me at 20 where I'd be in 2013, wife and mother would be on that list. If I had found the right guy, I would have happily tied the knot well over a decade ago.
Heck, if you had asked my high school or college friends where I'd be - almost all of them would predict that I'd be a wife and mom. I was the one that helped them through relationship break-ups, make-ups and the occasional pregnancy test; didn't go through a "party" phase and played matchmaker for a number of people.
I guess I need to change my earlier statement. I feel like a huge failure. But it also make me curious how you define yourself. What are your most important life titles?
*No, I'm not looking for pity. Please just accept this as one of the few times that I'm sharing about where I feel lacking in life.*
To make matters worse, one of my co-workers was one of the two speakers for the night and he made the group go through the exercise of sharing three things about ourselves that are non-work related.
Sounds simple and innocuous, right? Don't ask me how or why...but it made me start thinking about how people define themselves. About how I define myself.
I shared that:
- I'm on the board of directors of a dachshund rescue.
- I'm a voracious reader
- That I love to travel and always have my passport with me
I listened intently as people shared about themselves. After all, if you can find something in common - it gives you an opening to start a conversation. The labels that were most utilized were: husband/wife and mother/father.
I felt a little like a failure. I'm neither a wife or mother. Trust me - I wish I was both! (If you happen to see my Mr. Right...send him my way! I've been waiting a LONG time.) If you had asked me at 20 where I'd be in 2013, wife and mother would be on that list. If I had found the right guy, I would have happily tied the knot well over a decade ago.
Heck, if you had asked my high school or college friends where I'd be - almost all of them would predict that I'd be a wife and mom. I was the one that helped them through relationship break-ups, make-ups and the occasional pregnancy test; didn't go through a "party" phase and played matchmaker for a number of people.
I guess I need to change my earlier statement. I feel like a huge failure. But it also make me curious how you define yourself. What are your most important life titles?
*No, I'm not looking for pity. Please just accept this as one of the few times that I'm sharing about where I feel lacking in life.*
To make matters worse, one of my co-workers was one of the two speakers for the night and he made the group go through the exercise of sharing three things about ourselves that are non-work related.
Sounds simple and innocuous, right? Don't ask me how or why...but it made me start thinking about how people define themselves. About how I define myself.
I shared that:
- I'm on the board of directors of a dachshund rescue.
- I'm a voracious reader
- That I love to travel and always have my passport with me
I listened intently as people shared about themselves. After all, if you can find something in common - it gives you an opening to start a conversation. The labels that were most utilized were: husband/wife and mother/father.
I felt a little like a failure. I'm neither a wife or mother. Trust me - I wish I was both! (If you happen to see my Mr. Right...send him my way! I've been waiting a LONG time.) If you had asked me at 20 where I'd be in 2013, wife and mother would be on that list. If I had found the right guy, I would have happily tied the knot well over a decade ago.
Heck, if you had asked my high school or college friends where I'd be - almost all of them would predict that I'd be a wife and mom. I was the one that helped them through relationship break-ups, make-ups and the occasional pregnancy test; didn't go through a "party" phase and played matchmaker for a number of people.
I guess I need to change my earlier statement. I feel like a huge failure. But it also make me curious how you define yourself. What are your most important life titles?
*No, I'm not looking for pity. Please just accept this as one of the few times that I'm sharing about where I feel lacking in life.*
No comments:
Post a Comment