Is there a more loaded question than to ask who am I? Truth is, there are a ton of ways in which we can identify ourselves. We often choose roles – parent, spouse, friend – or actions – teacher, barista, social butterfly. I remember when I started writing consistently for a couple humble blogs as well as for the church. I had the fleeting question in me of when I could actually identify myself as a writer. For some reason, this has always been a romantic vision I had, while in actuality it often means self inflicting torment, small checks, and heavy drinking. On the last point, Ernest Hemingway is often wrongly attributed this pearl of wisdom: “Write drunk, and edit sober”. And while this adequately describes many writers, I am hesitant to try this philosophy no matter how many great novels the man wrote. I feel like I would end up writing prose on the rich flavor of Pringles and the lack of salty snacks in my cupboards. Drinks aside, I remember thinking that someone had to tell me I was a writer or I had to win some prestigious award before I could deem myself as such.
Perhaps identities, like grace, are not earned but accepted
I had to come to the realization that I was a writer because I write. Jack Kerouac was not going to show up at my door one day and declare me as such. I simply had to believe it. My identity was not based on success or qualification but merely my willingness to write freely. There is a power in a life that lets go of maligned and confused attachments in favor of simply going with our self propelled destiny.
So today I ask who are you? And maybe more importantly who do you wish you were? Are you simply ignoring an identity that is already yours to claim or are you telling a false narrative with your life? You have more freedom in your identity than you might believe.
Today, you are.
Matt simon blog 