We are more than our jobs
DEVELOPING: Early Saturday afternoon, among scores of volunteers and artists at Figment, this reporter stumbled on a wildly curious stationery and Lego-based installation. At the bottom of piles of index cards and pipe cleaners, artists Lakshmi and Lee placed questions that require participants to probe the essence of their identity. For example, participants are enabled to write a letter to their 2027 self, such as, hypothetically, "Don't forget to do your taxes" or "I hope everything is better now that you've achieved transcendence. Please get a dog and name it Greta." In another pile of Post-its, participants are encouraged to describe themselves without using their name, job, age, gender, or ethnicity. When asked for comment about the piece, Lakshmi, seen in the photo above, noted the piece's mission was to show participants that "it is not about what they do, it is about who they are." This Editor-in-Bead wondered who they were. How can I explain who I am without talking about my very important job delivering live coverage of the event? After much contemplation, I realized I am so much more than an award-winning former pharmacist, banker, two-time rock opera composer, and intrepid Wonderfuse News anchor. I am also a champion method dresser and radical gifting artist, and my job is not the most important thing about me. My pretend job is. The epiphany hit me like a commercial-free broadcast of a first-hand, hyper-local breaking story. Stay tuned for updates on my exploration of my identity outside of my occupation. It just might boggle my mind.