To Be or Not to Be or the Question of the Identiy Project

When you were little, what did you wanted to be when you grew up? Maybe you wanted to be a dinosaur!

Or maybe you wanted to be a robot! Powered by clockwork!

 

Well, as is the case, that always seems to be fine and dandy when you are little. We grow up, and we become something. Maybe that something is what we dreamed we'd be, but more often than not, we fall into our chosen professions. And that is who we become. Somehow, somewhere, we decided that what we do is who we are. I'm not sure that sits right with me. The big thing is that it lets society define who you are and not the other way around. We, as individuals, should be the ones to define what society is, yet the utter failure of that is evident if you just look at society today (politics anybody? Seriously, didn't anybody tell them to treat people the way you want to be treated?)

So where does this all fit in? For those of you keeping track, today is one of those retrospective days as we close out the year and it seems I've always been trying to define exactly where I fit in the world. Everyone is doing it, so don't worry, but it's one of those things that I think we need to re-engage with. We tell kids that they can be anything when they grow up and many of them make it, fulfill their dreams and I am happy for them. But are they the better off for it? Those that follow the straight line course achieve what they set out to, but what do they miss along the way? I for one have not followed the straight and narrow, but wandered the board a bit and I can honestly say it has been amazing, from the places I've been to the people I've met. Yes, there were (are) quite a few bumps along the way, but every little bump has helped shape who I am. Certainly, society has this idea of who I am, lumping me into a category, but it doesn't matter. So my advice for the coming year: deviate from the beaten path. Learn something completely unrelated to your job. Don't get settled into what society thinks you should be. And most importantly, have some fun while you're at it. You are who you choose to be.

Also, if you're so inclined to see more of the Identity Project, check out the ol' website. Yep, shameless plug.