The Journey Continues

I am traveling on a journey. I have reached an age in my life that I must face who I am. In most parts of our society, our job defines us. Are you a teacher, lawyer, police officer, mechanic, biologist or an artist? But really can your job title really define “who” you are? What happens if you loose your job, a common thing to happen in today’s economy? If you re-invent yourself with a new job title, does that mean you have become a different person? I’m sure you would agree that it doesn’t. The same you is there, just the events of your life have changed.

I realize now, that I never was comfortable as a conformist. I tried being a “teacher.” I tried being a “field biologist.” I spent many years as “web designer.” With each new career change, I tried to conform to the stereo types of the job…but it just wasn’t me.

Now I am beyond middle-age and I’m looking at myself. All of my life experiences have molded me in to the person I am today. I joined Facebook and started to re-connect with old high school friends. This experience, in itself, has opened my eyes. The core of the person I knew in high school is still there. They remember the stories, just like I do…but we’re not the same. We’re not the “high school student” anymore. We’ve grown and learned, loved and lost, enjoyed life and its agonies. So my job title, or any other title that is placed on me (e.g., mother, father, activist, liberal, conservative, Christian or Jew) cannot be me.  It is much deeper than that.

I can say I am an artist…but don’t label me. The artist in me is more than a title, it is a feeling I have deep in my gut. I have a passion, that when I talk of my creativity, people can see and be motivated by my words. I don’t understand it, but I know it is there. It has been there all my life, even when I ignored it and carried the titles of  science teacher, endangered species biologist, or even computer geek.

I am learning to listen to the me inside and do what feels right deep in my core.  There is an inner happiness that I feel, when I’m on the right track. I realize if I side-track myself, I get all tense and irritable inside. I am learning to listen to this quiet inner dialog. I am on a journey called life. I look forward to seeing where this road I travel takes me.