Multifaceted Personhood: Experience and Growth

I started a sentence the other day, “When I was working for this labor union,” and the person I was speaking to stopped me.

“What do you mean, ‘when you worked for a labor union?'” For what it’s worth, the story had nothing to do with the union, it was a silly story about a coffee that used to be available at a local chain coffee shop. Regardless, the question got me thinking. Over the last 10 years, I’ve had 20 different jobs that I list on Linkedin, and another 15-20 random freelance things that I’ve done. What has this bredth of experience taught me?

First, I want to acknowledge that work doesn’t define you as a person. But for me, as someone who has been really career focused, it is an integral part of who I am. I’ve worked hard to ensure that there is some seperation between what I do for work and my home life, and used some of the tips linked here to go about that.

But I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting (as one does), and that left me with a dizzying array of experiences. I also want to acknowledge that I am a young person, reflecting on a portion on the first decade of my adult life. Some one say that I haven’t lived enough life to reflect.

But yet, as my friends and co-workers joke, the “Mehek lore is deep”. So here’s a list of things I’ve done that will either surprise you, or not.

Experiences I’ve Had:

• Preschool teacher
• Nanny
• Convenience Store Cashier
• Community College program coordinator
• Intern for elected officials
• Private business project manager
• Political Campaign Manager
• Political Canvasser
• Nonprofit coordinator
• Nonprofit manager
• Blogger
• Staff writer
• Marketing consultant

In the grand scheme of things, this isn’t a lot. Other people have done more, certainly. But I seem to say things that give people pause. I’ll be telling a story, a relevant aside from the past will come up, and someone will ask when I did something, or that something was impressive.

But I don’t aim to be impressive. I follow the methodology expoused by Clifford Stoll in his Ted Talk, “The Call to Learn” that once I do something, I want to go do something else. I am hungry for experiences. I want to do as much as I can with the life that I have.

So this has left me with a lot of different experiences, and a multifaceted way of looking at the world. Looking backward has given me a moment to pause though.

What do I want to do in the future?

This question plagues a lot of people, and I couldn’t necesarily tell you that there is one right answer to this question. I don’t have a desire to change jobs or move, that’s for certain. I like where I live and what I do.

But the future is vast and uncertain and weird to think about, so I have compiled a list of things I want to do. Some of them are detailed in my 25 for 2025 list, but a lot of the future feels nebulous. For now, I write my blog posts, I post my little youtube videos, I enjoy the life I’ve built.

But I ask of others to consider that a person is multifaceted. Your expectations might be different based on the persons lived experiences, whatever they may be. I know that I find it a little funny when people talk to me about a specific topic that they are totally off base on, but that I have lived experience in. And sometimes, that can even be harmful, and people aren’t imaging someone as different, and that their different experiences are going to give them a different view point on the world.

My hope for you, dear reader, is that when you read what I write, it gives you some solace. May this be a space for growth driven mindsets and gentle hearts to land.

-M