Who am I?

The beads of sweat trickling down my armpit were going to soak my shirt in about 10 seconds after I had set foot into the meeting room. I was sitting on a swivel chair, yet I felt too anxious to spin back and forth on it as I usually did.

“So, tell me a little bit about yourself,” the interviewer asked. I paused, trying to recite the script I had practiced in my room a thousand times the night before. 

“I work for a local restaurant, I play sports, and I am doing well in school.” I choked. Really? That’s all I could manage to get out? There was so much more I could say about myself. What about my love for helping others, connecting with nature, or sharing bits of my life with an online community? In that moment, all I could think about was being perfect. What would the interviewer think of me if I stuttered or went off script? The rest of the evaluation went by as slow as Monday morning math classes. 

Unfortunately, I didn’t get the role I had hoped for. Though the unnecessary stress meant nothing in the end, I still learned my biggest lesson that day; I had to stay true to myself. Embracing the shadows and revealing my passions through things I truly enjoy when I’m not buried in work is not easy. Discovering ourselves through time and patience, instead of reading off of a script made the night before an interview, is the key to staying true to yourself.