Sunday, August 13, 2006

Sunday Scribbling - "Who Else Can I Still Be?"

This post is in response to a writing prompt at Sunday Scribblings.

I didn't respond to the "Who else might I have been?" prompt last week, even though it suited my thoughts quite well. I've often wondered where different choices would have taken me. I've even thought of ways I could have ended up in the same place via a different path.

However, looking towards alternate pasts, however interesting, does not have much impact on my current life. This week's prompt, "Who else can I still be?", is a bit more forward-looking. So, who else can I still be?

In the near future, "Who can I be?" is nearly the same question as "Who am I?". Any large course changes will be made over time. Right now, I am a woman in my late twenties, married nearly two years, programming computer simulations at work, knitting all the time, growing my hair towards my waist. Who else can I still be?

I can be a weaver. My husband and I have been fixing up an old floor loom, so soon I'll have yet another fiber-related activity to occupy my time. Who else can I still be?

I can be a pet owner. Now that we own our own house, we could get a cat or a dog without having to worry about what the landlord thinks. Who else can I still be?

I can be a writer. I don't work with words as often as I could, but I like to think this blog helps with that a bit. I sometimes have things to say that need a little fermenting time before they can be expressed. I'm going to try NaNoWriMo in November to see if I can actually write a coherent story in a month. Who else can I still be?

I can be a designer. I can create, both in fiber and in code. I can make garments to wear. I can make tools to use. I can make things come into being that never existed before. Who else can I still be?

I can be an old woman, seated at my loom, grey braided hair falling towards the floor, while a grandchild plays on the floor with the cat. Who else can I still be?

I can be a memory. I can be a voice in my children's heads. I can be a photograph on the wall. I can be a story told to future generations. Who else can I still be?

I can be the best me I can be, striving towards my future self without neglecting my present or forgetting my past. I am, and can still be, me. Who else?

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2 comments:

Rural Mama said...

Bee-you-tee-ful!

Anonymous said...

A very evocative piece. Yes, indeed.