#INTRODUCTION
There is a gentleman sitting outside an office. He’s young, fresh out of college, well-groomed, and well-dressed with the appropriate attire wearing a sapphire blue suit, crimson collared shirt, and a silver tie. From the looks of it, one can tell that he knows how to wear one, for that matter, to standout amongst the crowd of others who would also be there for the same purpose.
He is nervous with the tapping of his right foot and constant tightening of his hands. He’s called into the office, so he mentally tries to stop all his ticks. He is ready, standing up with confidence as he enters into in the room.
An older gentleman is sitting behind a cherry wood desk decorated with a picture frame, a laptop, and leadership books. An open note pad rest in front him with a red felt pen beside it. The man is calm with a business casual attire and a “give no f*$%s” smirk.
He sits down in front of the older gentleman.
“So! Tell me about yourself…”
That is the number one request that gets asked often: Who are you?
In an interview, we get asked such inquiring questions with varies degrees. However, when we meet or interact with someone we do not know, we are being interviewed for our personality and humanity, because once we speak we are judged on whether we are worthy of a conversation, a friendship, or a connection that may lead to a relationship.
How we appear to be is the first note of an introduction to a person. From that initial point, we are welcomed or maybe invited into a conversation that could be genuine or be fleeting. However, there is always risk when it comes to human interaction, whether for a moment in time or longer period.
So, I’ll introduce myself. I am a California native who is navigating the waters of New York City. For the most part, I am trying to stay afloat in the hopes that one day I’ll swim and not just be the one who’s drowning in the sea of life hustle and work flow within these unpredictable waters.
Yet, I still have not introduced myself. You can call me B, and I can only tell you a few things, so I don’t divulge my whole life story so quickly.
I have dreads not for the sake of being Rastafarian or tying to reconnect to my Heritage, which are good and meaningful. I have dreads for the sake of having long hair and the pleasure of feeling the wind blow through it when it decides to breath its breath on a day that’s warm or gloomy. To be able run my hands through my black hair, and have my fingers twist it as I’m reflecting about the mystery of the somber heart are others reasons that I have them.
I am a connector who believes that human engagement is important, whether for a brief moment on the subway or side walk, an exchange of conversation at work, or a life on going journey with a friend.
I am creative who is embracing who I am in the world, slowly, and who I am on the page.
