Monday Musings
I am a ... ?Somewhere in the last couple of weeks I experienced a subtle shift. I'm not sure when it happened but I'm pretty sure that I am not quite the same person I was a month ago. Right up until last week, if anyone asked me my profession I would reply "primary school teacher" even though I am teaching at the moment about 2 days a month and have not been secretive about my current animosity towards anything under 4 1/2 feet tall.
I knew that at some point I would be able to reply "I'm a writer" but the hard bit is figuring out when. School-teaching has faded into the background and I have articles sitting on editors' desks but I am still not quite ready to make the change.
What makes a writer a writer? Lots of people read my blog (I can see you, I have a site counter) but I feel that's not really quite it. Of the solicited articles I have delivered, none are yet in print and I think that is what I am waiting on. When I see my name in print, right there on the page in a magazine (and incidentally, when I have a cheque in the bank) then I will be a writer. And the world will be my mollusc.
In the meantime, what am I? If it amuses you, leave a comment suggesting how I should answer the question "What do you do?" during my interim period of uncertainty.
Ciao :-)
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Labels: Monday Musings
posted by dianemulholland @ 4:42 pm
5 Comments:
I can't answer the question for you, but I know the feeling of confusion and shift you're describing. :-) I think this may be especially true for teachers, so much of our identity seems to be wrapped up in our occupation. After we moved last summer and I was looking for other types of work and reconsidering my goals, I was never sure how to answer the question. Now I'm teaching regularly, but still not sure I'm in it for the long haul, so I still sometimes hesitate to answer! :-)
In regard to what am I ?
I guess you can look it singularly or ???
Maybe the question should be...How many hats do I wear ?
or
What is my greatest passon ?
I would say of myself..I am a musician and yet I sew, knit, paint, write songs, prose, poems..I am a wife, Mother, Grandmother (daughter, granddaughter,cousin,great aunt),and the list goes on..
I see the answer in all the things that make you uniquely you and that is what makes you so special.
So branch out and explore all that is in your heart and interest to explore and along the way you will discover all that is in your heart.
If I were you, I would reply that I am a writer, and that my works are in the publishing pipeline. That should suffice most inquiries, but if it is a situation where people want to know more, and one in which you wish to say more, add that you are a qualified teacher. Need more, still? Say that you keep busy with parttime work. One thing I've learned is that basic answers are best at first, and that you are never required, socially, to bare your soul, especially to those you don't know.
It took me a long time to make the psychological transition from "teacher" to writer and designer. I still tutor students occasionally, and I'm a mentor for other folks, and I miss the easy definition of being a teacher. For me, it felt like I was giving up some sort of special authority when I stopped teaching that writers and designers don't have. In the ideal world, folks at cocktail parties ask immediately what you write/design and you feel interesting to them, but in actuality, often they say, "Oh." Then they leave and get another drink...it's obviously more of a concern for you and me than for them!
You are a Knitting Exraordinaire. Wouldn't you say?
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