I finally got over my inertia and set up a Twitter account (@SusanRLin)! I realized I could be getting interesting and useful gems of information from people I respect - people whose books I've read and am reading, whose podcasts I regularly listen to. (Tess Vigeland, you're awesome!)
I could also be letting folks know about the writing I do here on this blog, as well as on my dance and piano blogs Dancing With Joy and Romance in Black and White. I'm surprised and humbled by the wonderful comments and emails I receive from perfect strangers who have somehow found my blogs despite my not publicizing them at all. If my writing can help, inspire, or simply be of interest to someone, I am thrilled.
During the setup of my Twitter account, I gleefully added people to follow - that was easy! After clicking "Next" I was suddenly faced with a little blank field, titled "Profile." I stopped in my tracks. What should I write in that innocuous white space?
I realized I had no idea how to introduce myself. Who am I, anyway?
Quickly, almost in a panic, I scanned the profiles of the people I had just begun following. But I am not a professor at a distinguished university, I am not the host of a national radio show. I have a career, but I knew immediately that I don't want that to be what defines me. (This is the result of a long and laborious evolution, of which I am personally proud.)
I could simply leave the field blank; I saw that many people do. However, this was not an acceptable option to me. I like information - receiving and giving it.
I tried, and failed, to come up with something punchy that conveys my desire to learn everything there is to learn in the world, my excitement about life and its infinite possibilities, my goal of figuring out how to create an environment within and without that leads to motivated, happy people, and my explorations in music and dance that inform my corporate experience and shape my life overall.
That obviously wasn't going to happen in 140 characters. I need to work on this. So, here's what I came up with:
People Operations Manager, Dancer, Classical Pianist, and Incurably Excited about Life and Discovery
It's not perfect, but it's a start. What do you think?
I realize we can be defined and define ourselves in various ways. It is a personal choice, of course. Something as small as a short profile description can speak volumes about:
- What we want to say about ourselves
- How we want people to see us
In some cases, it is aspirational: the profile can be a powerful statement of what we want to be, whether we've gotten there or not.
I'll keep working on articulating who I am right now - I know it'll evolve as I plow, meander, jaunt, drag my feet, dance, labor, study, and sing my way through life - but fundamentally there is a center, a heart, to who we are as individuals. It is the core that stays constant. Just what we define it to be may ultimately be a matter of perspective, discovery, and choice.
Isn't life beautiful in its mysterious ways?
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