ABOUT ME STORIES
About Me — Natalie
Not everything about me — but what matters now, at least
The one article that should be the easiest to write is in fact, the hardest for me. I have started and stopped, drafted and erased — more About Me stories in the last few months than I care to count. So, this is my final draft, dear reader. Let us hope — I will not waste your time!
Why do I feel so obligated to write this? Why do I hesitate to write this? What do I hope to accomplish by writing this?
Why do I want to write this?
Out of appreciation and respect to you, my reader — and to reciprocate with this wonderful community of writers who have written their “About Me” stories allowing me to get to know them better.
When I first started writing on Medium, I secretly hoped no one would read. Seriously — I was petrified to release my stories.
I just wanted to write. I wanted to understand what it felt like to send a piece of my soul out into the vast unknown and have no one who knew me personally read it.
There is an odd comfort in having perfect strangers read my personal thoughts.
If my reader was a new writer like me — well, better yet. Then I wouldn’t be so embarrassed. I wouldn’t have to read the harsh criticisms of the experienced writer.
I was an avid Medium reader for at least a year prior to writing — I still am. I read many writers who were upset that mediocre and poorly written articles kept flooding Medium’s waters. I certainly didn’t seek their attention nor wish to muddy the waters any further.
I wrote very little in my childhood and early adulthood. I understand that I am the exception to the perceived natural-born writer — it is my hope you will appreciate and see the array of gardens writers come from.
I fell in love with communication from a very young age. I listened and spoke mindfully observing how and what others communicate: this is my garden where curiosity and love for this world were seeded, reflection and empathy shone a light on my growing interest to understand those around me, and my love for learning and people tilled the ground in my soul where a writer was born.
I will always be a learner and have fallen in love with writing.
It is taking me a minute to learn to be clear and concise. It is far too easy to talk and write — on a tangent.
I’m getting there — one story at a time.
Why do I hesitate to write this?
Well, what and how much should I share?
I already write “About Me” — in all my stories.
It is not clear to me that a biographical summary of my life would share any value with you, my reader.
But the least I can do is provide you with a framework that has outlined my life. That frame provided a foundation, sometimes obstacles and walls, but eventually, the path that I’m grateful for which led me to where I am today.
Family ⎜Education⎜Marriage ⎟Career
Mom and Dad are West Indian, born and raised in the beautiful Caribbean island of Trinidad & Tobago. Their, and therefore, my lineage is made up of a rich blend of diverse ethnicities.
They immigrated to Venezuela during the 1970s when it was the land of promise for many in the Caribbean as well as South America. I was raised during prosperous times in Venezuela and carry with me fond childhood and youth memories that often make me classify it as the best part of my life.
I grew up bilingual (English and Spanish), with English, as my mother tongue. I attended US international schools as my father worked as an ex-pat for a US oil company for the greater part of his career.
Later my sister and I fulfilled our parent’s dream of completing a university degree in the US — only made possible by their great sacrifices and effort, two immigrants who loved and taught me more than anyone else in my life and to whom I owe so much.
Shortly after completing my Master’s in Mathematics, I married and moved to Buffalo, NY. My husband’s work took us to various states including Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, and ultimately where we are now in Monterrey, Mexico.
I juggled teaching at various colleges and universities while raising three boys. My two eldest sons are completing their last year in their respective universities, and my youngest sets out to begin in a community college this fall. They are each my pride and joy — three beautiful human beings so drastically different, you wonder if they indeed do have the same parents!
So what now?
You may wonder as a reader, “Why should I read anything you have to say?”
I don’t ever wish to write about how you should live your life or how to think. I will happily disclose what has propelled, hurt, pushed, and/or held me back personally and professionally.
But you will never read an article of mine telling you that there is only one path to love, peace, success, growth, or development.
You can observe the nuances of how and what I write but mostly see that I want to learn about myself, as well as make sense of what happens to me and around me. I will question, assert, kick back, and embrace different thoughts and emotions — with the privilege to change my mind as I learn, adapt, and grow.
You are welcome to be my teacher — to comment and question and correct me in all my pieces. I have but one simple ask:
Do it in kindness — as I would imagine — you would like others to do to you.
The golden rule stuck with me from the moment it was introduced to me in the 4th grade.
You will find me in every story that I write
I am constantly sharing pieces of my life — both past and present. There are areas and people in my life that I want to write about, yet do not know how to approach or what I wish to uncover.
I walk a fine line learning to balance how to openly and unashamedly write about many parts of who I am while respecting others’ privacy.
And then there are…
parts of me, random and inconsequential — I’ll seldom, if ever, mention them in my stories, like how —
- The sound of a standing fan reminds me of parts of my childhood in my grandmother’s house; the breeze and sound are nostalgic and relaxing to me
- I seldom allow songs to play in the order in which they appear on a playlist — I can be moody with my music and oh, how I love it!
- I have always had a natural aversion to alcohol — I used to believe everyone who tasted alcohol the first time hated it
- I’m still madly in love
- I don’t like to be told that I can’t do something or that it’s unsafe for me to do something — as a woman. In fact — that will surely fire me up to go ahead and prove you wrong
- I’ve always eaten my chicken last — I leave the best part for last! I also spread my egg yolk on toast first, and then I eat the egg white last.
- I adore heat — and
- Can’t see others in need without feeling compelled to do something about it
- I love driving at dusk to my music
And the list goes on and on. We all have them…
…idiosyncrasies that set us apart from anyone else, characteristics which we often observe and learn to appreciate as we get to know those around us — in person. I love connection.
Here in the written world, I’m given the opportunity to peel back layers of who I am, my life, and the world around me. I welcome and am loving the wrestle with words so that what I hope to say is what you read and fully understand.
Let’s connect!
Join me as I seek to discover who I am and who I will become as I dive further into the very exciting world of writing!
A special thanks to BichoDoMato whose About Me story is one of the very first I ever read — it was absolutely one of the most entertaining and brilliantly written About Me stories.
