Brilliant Disguise.
What if you woke up one day, looked in the mirror and couldn’t recognize your so-called self anymore?
What if you learned the knowledge about who you are and what you are about have absolutely nothing to do with your reflection?…that the life role you took on for yourself was just that — a role. Was it all an invention?
When I was in high school and then college, I thought I knew the professional life I was meant to lead: Marketing executive. So, that was the path on which I meandered for some twenty some-odd years.
I started out as the excited apprentice, moved on to the overbearing middle manager, to the seasoned Sr. manager, to the jaded Vice President. I wore the expected costumes for each part. I walked and talked with polish and confidence; but somewhere, very deep inside I knew I was headed for something completely different.
And here I am — alone in my suburban New Jersey home with my dog, running The Pet Set – very far from where I started.
The interesting thing is that as a young girl, in my visual fantasies about my adult self, I was always standing in a very bright kitchen (yellow)…not in a sky scraper in Manhattan. But of course, money, the expectations of others and recognition were what led me away from what I saw back then.
How did I get here? And who is the person in the mirror? Is it the real Kim or is it the impostor? And when will I know for sure?
In the mean time, I know I’m better at doing what I’m now doing than I ever was at my previous positions in marketing…although, my knowledge of marketing, is helping to make The Pet Set successful…and the kitchen could use a coat of paint.
Image: flickr.com
