Member-only story
Don’t Make Your Job Your Whole Identity
It helps explain who I am, but I’m not defined by it.
Uprooting my life at 17 has posed countless challenges, but one of the best things it has done for me was to force me to ask myself:
“Who am I?”
Throughout my early twenties, I struggled with that question as I was away from my communities and alone in a completely different environment and culture. I could be anyone. I could do anything. It was exciting, yet terrifying. I could be no one, and I could end up doing nothing, or ruin my life forever.
That said, I didn’t have much time to ponder — my path had been laid out clearly in front of me: I needed to get a stable job that sponsored my visa, regardless of what that job was. That was my mission.
I ended up joining a graduate scheme and staying with this employer for a total of five years due to my visa restrictions.
I struggled to fit in there. I couldn’t find any role that felt really “me.” I often resented the fact that I couldn’t just change my employer or even do my own things. But, in hindsight, it was a blessing in disguise.
