“Tell me about yourself.”

September 24th, 2024

What a great way to start off my first-ever blog post – with my most favourite ever question!

Distract and deflect.

Currently in an old brick brutalist building, a part of a big old profit-focused institution that I’ve paid to provide me with a little piece of paper supposedly securing me a future. Guess where?

If you said University, you’d be correct! I won’t accept the answer of college as I’m Canadian and there’s a distinction between the two. Not that I think college is bad. In fact, sometimes I wonder what my life would look like had I gone the route of the trades. I certainly wouldn’t be sitting in this hall listening to a lecturer discuss the debates between now dead men over an intangible theoretical topic. 

Don’t get me wrong. I love school. I love being able to learn. At the moment, there are just other activities I’d rather be doing. The other day, I found myself in my local cafe pretending to work (but really just setting up my Google Calendar with my life schedule) when an elderly man sat down in the vacant chair next to me and set up his workspace. Out from his leather messenger bag came a brick-like laptop (circa 2010), a stanley tumbler (?), and a bluetooth mouse (no not an actual mouse). He began madly squiggling about the mouse seemingly dropping and dragging all kinds of intangible assets. I peered over his shoulder to see that he was actually drawing. This man was designing stickers. 

Stickers. How COOL?!

Imagine designing stickers all day. Stickers go places. Your work sticks and travels at the same time. 

Cool in concept and I’d find that fun I’m sure for a few days at a time, however my artistic ability and patience would likely get the best of me, and I’d no doubt have to find a new passion.

I just dislike the idea of having to pick ONE thing. I mean, I know we don’t have to. We can change our career paths, we can switch directions, find new passions, etc etc. But it isn’t easy. And most of the time it feels like we have one aspect of our lives that tends to dictate our perceived identity. The question “tell me about yourself” stresses me out so much. “I’m a student.” – Well I’m not just a student. This does not make up the entirety of who I am as a being existing on planet Earth. But what do I say? Do I talk about my likes? Dislikes? Personality? 

“Hi, I’m extremely indecisive!”

Though only twenty, I’ve already made decisions that are making up my perceived identity – like my decision to study at University. I could have gone to college and gone into the trades. My life would look very different. I’d probably be a plumber. There’s something about looking all small and delicate then fixing someone’s BIG, confusing, urgent plumbing problem that just sits right with me. However, now that I’ve made the decision to go to University, I believe it’s quite unlikely that I’ll go down the path of becoming a plumber. There are simply different doors open to me and too many opportunities to explore from those doors. But maybe I would have liked that life? What if I don’t like this life?

At the end of the day, I just need to take these decisions as they come. I don’t know the answer to the question of “tell me about yourself” but maybe that in itself is my answer. YES! I’ll challenge the individual asking the question. Put the pressure back on them.

In all seriousness,  I am the only person in control of my life. If I want a certain life, I am to be the person to get myself there. I just need to be an ally to myself. Don’t really know what’s out there yet in terms of options for life paths, career choices, passions. I have ideas of course, but at the end of the day, I won’t know if it’s for me until I try it. Maybe sticker-making is the path for me after all? …If I were to dabble, it’s definitely more in the realm of mid-life crisis rather than quarter-life crisis. I’ll wait.