Who are you?

Part 1​ 
            Sometimes we can go through life without a true sense of self or gratification.  We look in the mirror and wonder what happened to us; we are not the women or men, we as children thought we would become.  How can we recapture that spark and that hope we once had for our futures and make it our present?  How can we dig our way out from under the burdens of an everyday dull existence?
 
            Now more than ever, we should ask ourselves these pertinent questions.  Our country, especially Michigan, has experienced a devastating increase in the unemployment rate; and it is hitting across all educational and career levels.  Hard-working individuals are finding themselves in a position, which most have never experienced, joblessness.  The economic recession has made it necessary for us to re-invent ourselves to obtain gainful employment, but without a map or guide we won’t be very productive.  So to begin this journey, we should start, not with what’s happening today or our current situation; but think back to a more simple time.
 
Remember Your Youth 
            Think back to those childhood fantasies and dreams; the ones in which you would lose yourself during class or while attempting to complete your homework.  Is there something … an interest that you once loved doing that you have set aside because of hectic schedules, career, marriage, or children; basically, adulthood got in the way?  Think about it.  Do you miss it?  If so, write it down.  We’ll revisit that later.
 
            Is there a talent at which you are/were good, a job or career you thought you had to have or you would just die?  You fantasized about it almost daily.  Maybe you just knew that would be your path, but someone discouraged you.  People said your head was in the clouds and then that goal or career started to seem too far out of reach.  If so, write it down and we’ll come back to that too!

​Part 2 continued next week
Authored by Natasha Hughes Smith