I don't know if you can relate, but lately I've changed the way I talk about myself. I'm not juuuusssstt a receptionist. No. I work as part of the admin team at H&M, where I get a thousand thankless tasks thrown at me in a given day, each with a higher level of urgency than the last. I meet, converse with, and assist some of the richest and most poswerful figureheads of the fashion industry. I enjoy what I do.
But, even so, I'm not juuuussssstt on an admin team at a cool company. I live in one of the most sought after arts and culture, finance, and otherwise, centers of the universe, New York City. NYC is one of the most interesting places you'll ever experience. The diversity, unique offerings, density, and history of this city makes it like no other. On any given day, I can visit China, Italy, France, The Dominican Republic, then The Middle East as represented by the innumerable transplants who immigrate to practice their crafts in a welcoming marketplace.
And, yet, this city does not define me. Many enjoy the title, but I don't want you to call me juuuussssstttt a "New Yorker". When, in fact, I'll travel wherever is necessary to pursue my dream, and that is to be a writer. Not like a "feelings in my diary" kind of writer, but a legit "puttin pennies in the bank", "quittin my day job" kind of writer. Who knows if it's possible, but what would I do with myself if I didn't try? After all, that is why I'm on an admin team, in New York.
However, (and I use this term very loosly) I'm not juuuussssttt a writer. If I never wrote again in my life, never shared another original thought, never told another story, never wrote another poem, never composed another lyrical line, that would be okay. Because it's not who I am. I'm not a writer, not a New Yorker, not a receptionist, I'm Heidi. And that's enough.
So, these days, when I meet someone new, I try to just go with what I know. Hi, I'm Heidi, and who are you?