Roughly 13 years ago, I thought I was having general chit-chat with someone I was assisting with some clerical and logistic details of a presentation. He was someone I had heard about but only just met, and it turned into a mini-counseling session. I hated that – no one wants to find out they were dumping their issues on someone they just met.
It was bittersweet because he has a gift of counseling so not only was that something that he would do with anyone who has so many issues that they spill all out of your baggage, but he was good at it – hearing it, recognizing it, encouraging it, and coaxing it. He said one sentence that would change the trajectory of the following nine years of my life.
It was so simple and so obvious, but I needed to hear it and to hear it from him and to hear it on that day at that time. He said that I was comfortable with other people’s vulnerabilities – almost a safe space for them – but that I was uncomfortable with my own vulnerabilities and didn’t trust anyone with them. I mean, that’s not exactly profound in and of itself and it makes a lot of sense and could have easily just been a statement I acknowledged as an accurate observation. But for the season I was embarking on, it was a seed that landed on fertile ground. And for nine years I nurtured it, and it blossomed, and it gave me a bountiful harvest. I wrote all about it HERE.
Roughly six weeks ago, I was in a formal talk-therapy session and though we’d discussed this on some level for the last three years, she gave me a word – a seed falling on fertile ground. Identity. And just as I did with the word Vulnerability, I will explore Identity in a public way via this blog. And hopefully I will better manage the changes in my relationships and friendships that comes with this decision. I’ll continue to use literary license where necessary to protect the innocent, so to speak.
So, let’s just jump right in. As of today, I self-identify on social media with the following.
- Sagittarius – Sagittarius is a sign of the zodiac that represents people born between November 23rd and December 21st.
- Xennial – A micro-generation of people on the cusp of the Generation X and Millennial demographic cohorts, typically born in the late 1970s to early 1980s.
- Sapiosexual – A person who finds intelligence sexually attractive or arousing.
- Wounded Healer – A person who is compelled to help others because the person him/herself is “wounded.”
- Tsundoku Sensei – A master at collecting unread books.
- Printrovert – One who prefers the company of books to that of people.
- Imperfectly – I have an Etsy shop selling prayer beads that I make without correcting imperfections.
That’s the easy part because I have already shared that with the general public. This information is like my music collection, books on my shelves, and the figurines I collect – conversation starters for anyone who I’ve allowed to enter my space.
So I guess, bienvenue dans ma vie!
I am Regina Lynette 