Sunday, May 20, 2007

Who am I?

So often we define ourselves through our experiences in life which mould who we are or who we want to be, the choices we made, the groups we fall into or the dreams we dream.

The journey towards finding yourself is a long and arduous one, twisting and turning in every direction. Reaching your destination is finding your personal identity – the definition of who you really are, independent of anyone else. Some people find a straight path that leads them directly to the discovery of themselves, and some people’s life path takes them on the scenic route.

We should not define ourselves by other people's views or beliefs but through the frame of how we affect the world around us.

So now that I’ve thought about how I should define myself, I decided to give you just the facts. And a little bit of what is in my heart – the way I want you to think of me. Pamela Jeanne tagged me with this meme, and here are my answers.

1. Basic facts about me: I’m a 40 year old young teacher, divorced, childless, and living in Pretoria, South Africa where I was born. Lived in 9 other towns and cities across the country during my life, but I’m happiest where I am now because I can see 11 of the 12 people in the core of my family whenever I want or need.

2. My family: The eldest of 4 children: 2 sisters (both married with 5 little boys between them) and a brother (still single and working in Abu Dhabi). Lucky enough to still have both my parents: Dad a retired banker, Mom a retired teacher. My family is my safety net – couldn’t wish for anything better!

3. My working history: I have 2 diplomas in education but have been a secretary, librarian and sales consultant too. For 3½ years I worked from home doing web design & web graphics and loved it. Still doing it part-time whenever I have a spare moment.

4. I’m an artist at heart, in my soul too. Not a follower but I don’t want to be in the lime-light as a leader either – way too much fun to do my own way-ward thing.

5. I love reading just about anything: a bookworm to the core! I prefer books that make me stop and think, as well as anything about forensic pathology. Barbara Kingsolver and James Patterson are two of my favourite authors. (Not enough space or time to list them all today!)

6. I’m dreaming of finding my soul mate: I know I can survive really well being single, but I prefer spending my life sharing its experiences with someone special. Hope is alive and well and living in my heart!

7. I’m still on the path to finding my true self, and the journey to my destination is one of mixed emotions ranging from intense sorrow to jubilation.

8. I have this secret dream of being a singer – not your average pop-star, someone different and unique like Katie Melua or Eva Cassidy. My favourite local singer is Laurika Rauch, maybe because so many of my friends and family says we look very much alike!

This is your chance; ask away if you need to know anything more. I’m tagging the following 3 people – my apologies if you have already been tagged, just consider yourself double-tagged. J

Pluto – Polkadot
Aunt Sassy – Rotten eggs
S – Worrier/Warrior

5 comments:

lady macleod said...

Oh that's a grand and very sweet list. What sort of art?

Pamela T. said...

If you could travel anywhere, what would be the five top places on your list?

If you were to go back to your first year of university would you still earn the same degrees?

With all you've been through, what are the most important traits for you in a mate?

Anonymous said...

I'm curious... you sound like a very artistic person. What sorts of creative things do you do?

You came up with a great list. And I hope you find that soul mate out there looking for you.

btw... i LOVE the Poisonwood Bible by Kingsolver. Good stuff!

pluto said...

I really enjoyed this list!

Gosh, you've tagged me - I'll get cracking on thinking of eight things too.

KarenO said...

Thanks for all your comments and questions.

Lady MacLeod, you asked what art? I presume you mean what I want to do... I have a few paintings in me that need to be painted. Like some people have a book inside of them that needs to be written it's still a work in process deciding when it's going to come out and how it's going to look. Maybe something using mixed media, definitely not still life types, more modern maybe! :)

Pamela Jeanne, I'll have to make the answers to your questions into a whole new post, keep your eyes peeled for that one!

Aunt Sassy, I love crafty things like quilting, scrapbooking, cross-stitching and then my website where I sell sweet little pictures for use on personal websites and desktop printing. I don't nearly have enough time to spend there as I would like! And ok, here is the link... www.daisydreams.net - nothing much, just doodling with pixels! And btw - I loved Prodigal Summer from Ms Kingsolver! If you haven't read it, go get it asap. :)

Pluto, looking forward to your list!