I recently finished a guest post that will go up on the (in)courage blog sometime later this month… and while I was so honored to be asked to contribute, there was one part I was dreading.
Writing a bio.
You know, that short paragraph where you’re supposed to sum up who you are and what you do. The blurb where everyone says their name and status… whether that be a wife, a mother, a stay-at-home domestic executive or a woman working outside the home. It’s that section where people talk about their careers or their current studies or their love of homeschooling.
They give their credentials.
I don’t have credentials. My old life had credentials, but it doesn’t work to talk about who I was. I want to talk about who I am. Which begs the question: who in the world am I?
I’m the girl who loves with her whole heart.
I’m the girl who loves her friends’ kids as if they were her own.
I’m the girl who would do anything for her family.
I’m the girl who believes her friends are her family.
I’m the girl who feels an intense bond with people she’s never met in person.
I’m the girl who thinks her nieces and nephews are heaven-sent.
I’m the girl who loves to read and thinks music can take you out of your physical space.
I’m the girl who gets so lost in a story she forgets she’s home.
I’m the girl who can’t cook but always wanted to.
I’m the girl who knows her limitations, which is why she never tries to do math in her head.
I’m the girl who would rather listen than talk, but always has something to say.
I’m the girl who loves to write, and loves that she now has people on the other end of the computer screen to write to.
I’m the girl who will be more excited than you about your good fortune.
I’m the girl who struggles more with how this disease makes her look than how it makes her feel.
I’m the girl who is still convinced that she’ll be able to accomplish tomorrow what she couldn’t accomplish today.
I’m also the girl who will roll her eyes tomorrow when she realizes that she once again overestimated her capabilities.
I’m the girl who will always choose joy.
I’m the girl who recognizes the huge blessing that comes in the form of a little white pup.
I’m the girl who dreads disappointing people.
I’m the girl who can see the things she has lost aren’t to be mourned, but instead viewed as the blessings they were.
I’m the girl who is grateful for being loved, not despite her illness and limitations, but with them.
I’m the girl who will always believe in you, even when you don’t believe in yourself.
I’m the girl without a husband or child, a career or a future goal.
I’m just a girl taking life as it comes, never leaving her four walls, but living a complete life within them.
I sat for over a week not knowing what to put in that short bio, the one that was supposed to be the size of a 140 character tweet. At first it felt like pressure… like the blurb I was asked to write for our 10 year class reunion after I had already become disabled. Not exactly the bragging I dreamed of doing.
But then I realized I am actually the one without the pressure. I’m not out in the world where people are often judged by their relationship status and their home and their career. My bio is short. I’m just me. Here. Sharing my life with you.
And that’s a pretty lovely place to be.
Take a little time today to think about this: If you were to take away the titles, the status, the job… what would your bio say? You might be surprised by what you come up with.
