Do you ever feel like you are trying to be two things at once? I certainly do. I am an engineer. A photographer. A mother. A wife. A friend. A teacher. A blogger. A corporate worker. A small business owner. Shall I list them all? No wonder I needed to focus on balance this last month.
The focus on balance led me to this book: One Person/Multiple Careers: A New Model for Work/Life Success
In fact, it’s led to me to reflect that for my entire adult life I’ve been some form of this more-than-one-thing-at-a-time path. After graduating with my bachelors in electrical engineering, I worked full time as I pursued my master’s degree in the evenings. After gaining that degree and a new job, I relocated to Oregon and started a hobby of scrapbooking. (I pursued scrapbooking with a passion equal to a job, completing book after book.) The scrapbooking led me to become a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator soon after my son was born. If that’s not crazy I don’t know what is: Working at my engineering job, new mom, oh, and let’s do this side business too! To be fair, I didn’t really pursue Stampin’ Up! as a business, but when I started to teach stamping and scrapbooking, I realized how much I loved teaching. I was hooked. It got to the point I loved the teaching more than the stamping, I only stopped that to move to Italy. Is it any wonder that I found something else to fill the void? Travel, photography, blogging – all led to this new passion and desire to teach in a new realm.
The funny part: It’s starting to all make sense. I used to feel like someday I would have to choose between “being” the engineer or the photographer, but now, I don’t feel that way so much. I will probably always default to pursuing multiple things at once. I think that is who I am. It’s just how my energy flows. So it’s no longer about choosing one answer to the “what do you do” question for me, it’s about balancing the different parts to a cohesive, satisfying and not-too-overwhelming whole. It’s about letting myself embrace the idea of the “slash,” that it’s ok to be more than one thing at a time. That I am more than one thing, and I always will be. We all are.
In my “About” page you’ll see the fruits of all of this contemplation – I identified myself as a Photographer/Teacher/Engineer/Mother. I could add about five more slashes on there, but those get to the heart of who I am right now.
How would you answer the question, “What do you do?”
Sometimes those slashes can be real confusing, but accepting that there are more facets to you than just being this or that is more rewarding, isn’t it?
I wish you all the best and thank you for sharing this story with us.
Beautiful post, Kat. It sounds like a very interesting book. As a stay-at-home mother for the past 16 years the “what do you do?” question has always kind of stung me a bit. After all, what do I do? Clean up messes and chauffeur kids around — not really all that much fun to talk about at a cocktail party. But then I am not just what I do. I believe that mother, teacher and artist are more than doing they are definite ways of being. The tricky part is finding the right kind of “doing” to fit your “being.” Does that make sense?
I’m missing your “Finding Your Eye” prompts! I wish I could have joined you on the second part of the journey. ; )
I can understand the frustration with this question. It just doesn’t cover who we ARE, does it? I like what you write – finding the “doing” to fit your “being.” That makes total sense to me!
Hey Kat-
Your multi-tasking personality comes shining through in your blog. What makes you a great teacher is your ablitiy to see both sides of the coin. You can explain it AND do it. I taught music for years-I was a much better teacher than performer, but I think that was my success. Some of the greatest artists, can explain their way out of a paper bag, yet they try to teach. You have such balance already-yet you’re seeking. Hmmmm.
Of course that’s just my opinion and worth what you paid for it.
What do I do? Something I shouldn’t be doing. I shall find a new path soon I hope. Meanwhile, photography and blogging keeping me sane.
Great post. I can relate to having to be more than one thing at a time and can appreciate that it is possible to find some kind of balance.
Have a great day.
Life is always full of balances and it’s good to accept that. I’m just in the process of changes because my baby is going to high school next year. Picking up a bit of extra work in the last couple of weeks is making me think about what stays & what goes. I think it’s good to think about how it all fits together rather than drifting into things. I’m trying to be a bit purposeful to make the most of it.
Thanks for sharing your thinking on this.
I just may have to take a look at this book Kat!
I definitely have far too many slashes in my “title,” but you know, it would be so difficult to give any of them up, because I do enjoy each one (most of the time!).
Hmmmm, how would I answer that question? I think my answer would be that I simply participate fully in life. Real fully! 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing your always wonderful posts at The Creative Exchange today.
Have a great evening!
lisa.
I think we’re conditioned into being one thing but then realise we are all capable of so much more. There is no reason why we shouldn’t have a portfolio of careers that makes the most of everything we are good at!
Love this post!
The jobs we undertake describe us and our talents but don’t define us. Over a lifetime our work and our interests evolve and change and that is part of the natural flow or progression. People have said to me that I get passionate about one thing then move on…that may be true…once accomplished or experienced we can move on to be challenged in different areas. And it is the composite of all of our activities, both work and play that add to our sense of self and our identity and it is also these activities that help to forge the who of who we are. They temper and shape the inner qualities and attributes in an ongoing manner, creating our character. After all it is not what you do but how you do it that tells who you are.
Hi Kat,
All that you do makes my head spin! Seriously, do you sleep?
As for me…. my short answer would be Artist.
My long and possibly more accurate list would read ~ Art Quilter/Photographer/Beader/Wife/Mother/Occasional Teacher and Writer. Not necessarily in that order, at any given time:)
Perfect image to pair with your text!
LOL Anna! Yes, I sleep. I love your slashes! And I agree, you should reserve the right to change the order at any time.
wow… this post really hits the spot.
Because I do
– photography
– blogger (in both Russian and English – all these blogs are updated on average twice a week)
– am administrator, moderator of the photo forum
– creator, admin of the photo game- 30 days of photos-http://foto-month.livejournal.com/
– Mom
– Wife
– student (part time this semester, but planning on going full time after January)
– teacher (tutor) for the online photography class
– designer of templates for Lightroom 3
– volunteer tax preparer
– friend, supporter, inspiration buddy….
….
so many roles. and I Love them all.
but … I still have a big hole inside feeling that … I don’t do enough … or I should choose just one thing and concentrate on it… I would hate it, but that’s what they do in adult world
I’ve always been like this, but until recent years I haven’t been very good at follow-through and I’d pursue endless interests and roles and never complete or even get very far with any of them. I’d get obsessed with something, learn as much as I could about it, and then generally lose interest and move onto the next one. Photography has turned out to be the one thing I never get tired of, perhaps because there’s so much to learn and so many different aspects of it you can investigate. The temptation is still there to add other things into the mix, but I’ve finally accepted that you can only do so many things at once. I’ve finally settled for passions that allow for a lot of diversity within them, like photography, writing, teaching, and so on. They satisfy my need to stick with something, while at the same time allowing lots of choices and avenues to pursue.
Have you come across Barbara Sher’s book ‘Refuse to Choose’? It’s really good on this subject, as is The Renaissance Soul by Margaret Lobenstine. Both of them give ways of accommodating multiple interests and roles without becoming too distracted and scattered.
Thanks for the great book recommendations Gilly!
But we are all created to discover and live the many facets of our personality! Although in essence you are right because when people ask me the same question I get confused and blurt out “I do art” which is pretty contentious because art is inherent in all of us! 😉
What an interesting post you wrote above, Kat. Doing two things, and often more, at once. You have experienced many different pursuits and one thing led to another like with the scrapbooking, then the stamping which led to teaching! Then you realized you loved the teaching… you were fortunate enough to go to Italy to live and which nourished you artistically speaking and then you came back to teach which you to love and which you do so well!
I have also done many things in my life and one thing did lead to another and I have always enjoyed doing things with my hands and creating, especially with colour. Since I purchased a SLR camera 18 months ago, my creative energies have been expanding and growing in directions I would never have imagined. I always thought that I might paint one day and dabbled a little in watercolours a good while back – but I never felt that I was really gifted enough to pursue it further.
Photography is a means of expressing oneself through images. For me, it’s like capturing one’s dreams and creating a picture of our inner selves.
Whether we realize it or not, what we capture is simply a facet of who we are at that moment. We express who we are through our art form… and this is an everchanging, breathing, flowing beingness. How wonderful to be living it!
Sandra
I love your thoughts here Sandra! “It’s like capturing one’s dreams and creating a picture of our inner selves.” So true. Your beautifully written words capture how I feel about photography as a form of self-expression. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts!