I’ve been thinking a lot about choice lately. Not about the choices in my life specifically but about the power of making decisions. I believe it speaks to the core of our humanity, the ability to make a choice and change your life, even if it’s something small.

For me, my choice comes with a recent introduction. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been introduced or have introduced myself as one thing or another. I’ve been someone’s daughter, coworker, employee. I’ve been the worker of this place or that. While these labels are fine and accurate, they are also ones I didn’t chose for myself. Then I recently had to introduce myself to strangers and I said this:

“I’m Icess and I’m a writer.”

Now that was an overwhelming feeling. I’ve introduced myself as a writer before but it’s shortly followed by something like, “you write for the paper don’t you” or “you’re such and such’s friend”. That writer label, the one I chose for myself was wiped away and replaced by another that people were more familiar with. And therefore change didn’t happen.

Now, with these group of strangers who didn’t know me very well, I introduced myself as a writer. There was no after thought, no additional commentary. That label Velcroed itself to me and so I finally came into being.

The feeling is exhilarating. I own that title, that label that I’ve picked for myself. I am more than a person that belongs to other things — friends, family, and work — I belong to me and I am a writer.

Hands down, this was the best thing I’ve done for my writing.

 

How do you introduce yourself? How have you embraced the writing life?