When I found out in October that I was going to lose my job at the end of the school year, my life went into a complete tail spin. I had been a teacher for almost 20 years and this news was such a complete gut punch that I knew it was time for me to leave traditional teaching in the public school system forever. In the weeks and months that followed, I did a lot of soul searching, writing, crying and talking with friends, family and daily with my husband. One suggestion he gave me was to create an identity stack to figure out what was core to my being. The idea is to brainstorm all the words that you identify with you. Step number two is to put them in order of importance. I grabbed a stack of notecards and just started writing down anything I could think of. I have no idea if my list is longer or shorter than normal or if having 60+ items is totally normal. My original list was in absolutely no order whatsoever. When I tried to put items in a priority order, it became overwhelming and I quickly abandoned that idea. Here is my list:
- Host
- People storyteller
- Blogger
- Teacher
- Writer
- Networker
- Creative
- Artist
- Photographer
- 52 Framer
- Wife
- Friend
- People lover/ people hater
- Runner
- Nature lover
- Culture lover
- German speaking
- Traveler
- Language learner
- Self-published author
- Ed Techie
- TV Watcher
- Trekkie
- Whovian
- Pour Painter
- Crafter
- Card Maker
- The World Needs More Love Letters Letter Writer
- PADS volunteer
- LEGO builder
- Crocheter
- Doodler
- Wax sealer
- Colored hair
- Loyal friend
- American
- Caucasian
- Female
- Yogi
- Italian
- German
- Dick Pond Wednesday Night Warrior Captain
- Solution Seeker
- Do-er (get shit done)
- Love working with kids
- Volunteer
- Dog lover / serious dog want-er
- Foodie
- International recipe lover
- New recipe enthusiastic tryer
- Care-r
- Helper
- Entertainer
- Fearless in the kitchen
- Cook-er
- Baker
- Homemade ice cream maker
- Homemade sausage maker
- Homemade pasta maker
- Homemade is better person
- Coffee drinker
- Sweets lover
- Coffee shop lover
Instead of trying to prioritize the cards, I started putting the cards into categories that were similar and held the items that were most important to me. There were definitely items on my list that were less essential to the soul searching for Jen 2.0. I just put those into a miscellaneous category and eventually discarded them.
My Power Categories are:
Key characteristics. These items are part of my core being. If you were to ask anyone close to me, they would use these words to describe me. As the items started falling into natural categories, I learned a lot about myself and the different paths I could take. –
- Get sh*t done
- Helper
- Creative
- Love students / underdog
- Runner / lover of nature
Wellness. While these items would not factor into my next career per se, they would be instrumental in making sure I come out of the other end of this process with as few scars as possible.
- Meditation
- Yoga
- Running
- Nature
Culture. This was the core of my career as a language teacher, but it is also part of my being. I love learning new languages and learning about new cultures. We have had so much fun with our International Foodie Map. These items made me look hard at the idea of starting an experiential travel company that does not just check bucket list monuments off a list, but rather organizes experiences travelers will remember for a lifetime.
- Travel
- Foodie
- Baking
- Cooking
Creativity. Expressing myself through various mediums has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. It will serve as an outlet for the remainder of my days. While I know that there are a myriad of artists and writers who make a living with their craft, I don’t want my love for these activities to be ruined by putting my feeling of worth in whether or not people buy what I produce.
- Writer
- Blogger
- Artist
- Storyteller
Entertainer. I can lose myself for hours in the kitchen baking or preparing a special meal. I love traveling and exploring new cultures. I love meeting people. These ideas have culminated in the idea of opening a bed and breakfast at some point down the road or hosting guests from around the world in an AirBnB. It is not the right time to explore that idea, but down the road, I hope so.
- Foodie
- Hosting
- Cooking
- Baking
- Travel
So where has all of this soul searching led me? As of today, I have decided to focus my efforts on the not-for-profit sector. I am volunteering for a local homeless shelter and I am loving the work we are doing there. I have signed up for a grant writing course through our local community college, so that I can learn this important skill. Most importantly, I have my eyes on the end goal, which is to run my own NPO. More on that later.
Where does creating an identity stack fit into creativity? I can see using it for so many different activities other than just figuring out a new career (although that was really helpful!). You could create stacks for characters in a story or novel you are writing. You could use it to better understand people in your life. You could create it just to figure out what your priorities are and to potentially help you work through a block.
