As for the original question, I was a computer geek for 30 years. Yeah, it's who I am. So I would have to say what I do (well, did) for money = identity. I had no problems with it.
As for the original question, I was a computer geek for 30 years. Yeah, it's who I am. So I would have to say what I do (well, did) for money = identity. I had no problems with it.
Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington
Partly. "Librarian" would be included in any description of myself, and even after I fully retire I will still consider myself a Librarian.
Is it the most important part of me? I don't think so. What I value most in life is my family and my connection to the natural world, my personal growth and creativity.
Before I went to college I would have said no. AFter I got my first professional job it definitely did. First I was a social worker and then I did all the testing, evaluations, etc to help people with disabilities get back to work. Then when I retired I became an adjunct professor so I now see myself as a teacher.
I did so many things...gas station attendant, sold fruits and vegetables, chased down shopping carts and stocked shelves, assistant to a millright, delivered payroll in a big city, was a foster parent for severe and profoundly challenged wonderful humans, air traffic control, state trooper/ criminal investigator, regional pharmaceutical drug representative, and a golf course maintenance man. Every single hour I ever worked....I did it to pay bills and raise a family. Nothing about who I am ever influenced what I did.
Every single job made me who I am. Much of it I despise. Some of it, I am shocked about. A very small percentage, I am proud of. My true identity is very different than my current identity. It is under a thick layer of calluses, scar tissue and emotional turmoil but it is there. I dig for it on a daily basis. rarely do I find a nugget, it is usually just some dust but I collect it. Once in awhile I put it on a scale and weigh it and find progress.
I am jealous of those who got to express their identity in their workplace. That would have been wonderful.
Hahaha I think it's the former for me.Are you an engineer because you're that way or are you that way because you're an engineer?"
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