beyond the bio: who are you beyond your roles?

I've been thinking lately about how we introduce ourselves.

Usually, we begin with the things that are easiest to name.

What we do. Where we live. Where we grew up. The roles we hold. Maybe a few of the places we've been or things we've accomplished along the way:

I'm Madina. I spent fifteen years working in strategy and operations. I'm the founder of Whirling Leaf. I'm a daughter, a sister, a friend...

All of those things are true, and all of them matter to me.

But none of them quite answer the question: Who are you?

Of course, every setting asks for something different from us. If someone asks what you do at a professional event, you probably aren't going to tell them about your love of long walks or the song you've had on repeat all week… ;) There is a time and place for the bio.

But I've been wondering about everything that doesn't make it into one.

Because we spend so much of our lives accumulating ways to describe ourselves.

We earn degrees. Build careers. We reach milestones we've worked toward for years. We collect experiences and accomplishments that become part of the story of our lives.

And they are meaningful, but there is still a person underneath all of that.

The woman who has peculiar little things that delight her….who has questions she hasn't answered yet….who has changed her mind…

Who loves certain people deeply.

Who notices things.

Who has dreams she may not have told anyone about.

Who is still discovering what makes her feel most alive.

Maybe that's why I've become so interested in what exists beyond the bio.

Not because our roles and accomplishments don't matter, but because they can only tell us so much about a person.

You are someone's daughter, perhaps someone's mother, someone's wife, someone's sister.

You may be an executive, an instructor, a teacher, a founder, an artist.

But you were a person before you held any of those titles…and you remain one within them.

There is an entire inner world that can't be captured by a résumé, a relationship status, a job title, or even the stories we have become accustomed to telling about ourselves…

And maybe we don't spend enough time getting curious about her.

So I thought I would try it myself..not the polished introduction, not the professional bio…not the story of where I've been or everything that has happened along the way…

Just...who am I?

And today, I think I would say:

I'm Madina. I've lived a beautiful, messy, bountiful and blessed life. I love being alive. I'm curious about people, about God, about this world, and about who I'm still becoming. There's so much I don't know yet...and I think that's part of the mystery!

Maybe tomorrow I would say something different,… and I think I like that too.

So maybe you might try it for yourself sometime this weekend.

No one else has to read it. You don't have to make it profound or impressive or even coherent.

Put aside what you do, where you've been, the roles you hold, and all the usual ways you explain yourself.

And simply begin: I'm ______.

Then see what comes next…

— Madina