Tuesday, February 22, 2011

How do you describe yourself?




Recently I was asked that question.

I was going to speak to complete strangers and the master of ceremonies or whatever they call the person who organizes these things, ask me to give her some information about myself (since she also knew nothing about me) so she could introduce me to the room.
I thought about resumes or job descriptions, but then went a little deeper.

The obvious would be clear. Tall or short; white, black, brown, red, blue…; long hair or short hair or any hair at all; well dressed or casual; bearded or shaven; male or female or some mix of the two. Standing behind a podium the room could judge for themselves who I was by my physical appearance.

Then I thought what else defines a person?

Previous and current occupations; educational institutions attended and perhaps graduated; clubs and organizations in which time and money was donated; or special award or accolades could help define personal goals to a stranger.

Then the questions got harder. Religion or faith or feelings about a supreme being; family relating to an austere history with recognizable linage; marriage and all of it luggage of spouses and children and their educational, sporting, and occupational accomplishments; or even total worth in personal possessions as a value standard.

So trying to paraphrase all that into something that a speaker could read off a card without putting the audience asleep I tried to sum up “who” I thought I was.

That opened a whole new list of questions. I play or attempt to enjoy myself in strumming strings (Am I a musician? Am I a composer?); I place words together on a Blog (Am I a writer? Am I an author?); I ride a bike (Am I an athlete? Am I a health nut? Am I green?); and I sketch on paper (Am I an artist? Am I a connoisseur?).

So to keep it simple, I broke down my being into one sentence. It could be easily written on a tombstone.

2 comments:

TripleG said...

"Someone you're always glad to see."

TripleG said...

(I meant you.)