Wednesday, March 2, 2011

20 days to 30

I will be 30 in 20 days.

This past weekend an event occurred that was small if you were observing, but was monumental in my life. I recently joined a social site that required me to write an "about me" section. I wrote what I knew about me; my profession, things I like to do, information about my pets. A few days later I went to breakfast with a group of friends, which included a dear friend of mine, AC. And then it happened.

AC told me my "about me" section made me sound like a "lesbian spinster". Now, I have nothing against lesbians or spinsters, but I am in fact neither. My eyes began to water (I was not crying, but rather having my normal physiological response to being made fun of). After the joking subsided, AC said something that I can't get out of my head. He said, "I know you, and what you wrote doesn't come close to describing the person you are".

I went on with my Sunday, but kept thinking about what AC had said. Of course, I re-wrote my "about me" on my site, but only re-worded what I had wrote in a way that made me seem younger. I took the sentence about my cats out, and inserted a sentence about doing yoga, something that young, cool people do. I texted AC for his opinion, and he gave the thumbs-up. But the truth was I had absolutely no idea what to write in my about me section.

So. I am almost 30. I have no idea what I can tell people about me that really captures what I am about. Which brings me to the present moment. I can tell you about my profession and my passion. I can tell you what I enjoy spending my time doing. I can tell you about my wonderful family and friends. But I am beginning to realize that none of these things really define who I am fully. So for the next 20 days I will be writing a blog per day about me. This mini-journey is about finding me; about writing my "about me" section in the future in a way that captures the dynamic, intelligent person that I am. I am not sure what direction this will take me; there is no plan. It probably won't all be positive. It will definitely not be all negative.  My only hope is that it is fun, interesting, enlightening, and filled with love and passion. Because that is what I owe myself.

Being 30 does not freak me out. Turning 30 and not being able to describe who I am does.

J

1 comment:

  1. Wow! That kind of self-assessment is a very courageous undertaking. I can hardly wait for each installment and I anticipate learning more of my self as I reflect on the things I learn of you. Your last thought was very profound. It makes me question how much I admit to myself.


    I love you, Jamie. And I am thankful you have friends like that.

    **daylene**

    ReplyDelete