Self ID

I could not remember precisely where I learned this, but I would like to share with you something interesting about self identity. I also prefer to focus this issue on women.

So, when you go to a party, how would you introduce yourself? Hi, Im Jean. I'm Brian's wife. I'm Lina's daughter. I'm Kate's mother. Women tend to relate themselves to other people, in hope that the strangers they just introduce themselves to could connect the dots. This mostly applies when we go to a more family-acquaintance gathering. But, how do we go about introducing ourselves in a more corporate ambiance? Myself, I would sometimes just introduce my name. Do we say our profession? Or company?

This topic gives me a huge remarks because I believe that women should be proud to introduce themselves as what they are, and not by whom are they related to. They appear as shadows, sometimes, and we're just hiding behind them. Perhaps, it is easier to make connection with strangers when we relate ourselves to the people they know; but have you ever tried having conversation with stranger with 0 mutual points at all? It's liberating! It's really fun getting to know people with 0 expectations.

On the other hand, this self identity doesn't stop at just introduction phase. It also goes into how we bring ourselves in social media or in daily conversations. Like your  posts are mostly about yourselves or others, how do you describe yourself? Are we proud of ourselves to mostly talk about our days or we do some sharing that can benefit others? I was at a phase where I'm not too excited to share online about my job. Then, I realize it's not really about staying humble, it's more like I dont recognize myself for my identity and it's really sad. I'm trying to embrace the fact that to do better at work, I must first recognize my role and how I could do better for team's productivity. Alhamdulillah, things get better.

Every one on Earth is important, we have our responsibilities in life. Usually, our daily life will revolve around our responsibilities. Some stay at home parents are observed to be more reluctant to tell people about their roles at home, some communities undermine them. It's one of the stigmas that have been belittling important roles, like housewives, househusbands, janitors, Pak Guards. Every one matters. We contribute to the society. 

So, at the end of the day, recognize yourself. Signify yourself. Define yourself (not by the people around you!). Be proud of who you are. Bring the best out of yourself. Celebrate little and (what more) big achievements. Lastly, love yourself.