My Bio

My good friend Travis posted this question on Facebook, "If you wrote your own bio, what would it include? What would you leave out?" Interesting question. I've probably never thought of that before. My initial reaction is to leave out certain things from my past. Why would I want people to see my flaws? Why would I want someone to read about the pain, embarrassment, or mundane things in my life?

But that doesn't make any sense. Why wouldn't I want them to read those things? That is what connects us to other people. Who wants to read a story about someone and their perfect, angelic life where everything was easy? Not I. I want to read something that is hard to read, emotionally. I want to read something that rips the heart out then puts it back together again. I want to read a story about someone who I identify with and has overcome adversity and become something great. Even if that person is only great in the sense that they are a good parent, a respectable member of society, or a CEO. I want to read about a person.

I want to read everything about someone. I want to know every detail about them. How else can we learn from one another? Not only is it beneficial for the reader to read about another person's struggles but it's cathartic for the writer. Writing about the things you have endured in life is hard, but it is oddly freeing. It forces you to confront those things that were hard to confront before. It forces you to face the pain you may have hidden from yourself. But it's worth it. It's worth it to face those things and deal with them and then express them and not feel any guilt about the life you have led.

I would write about the problems I've had with my father, my mother's family and their drama, my self-esteem, my faith, my boy troubles, and my job. I also would write about my accolades, including my numerous awards, my friends, my self-esteem, and my job. Yes, some of those things overlap. And that is ok. I'm suppose to overcome obstacles. And if showing someone that it is possible to overcome hardship through my own biography then of course I would inculde those moments of my life. If not, how else would we learn from one another?

What would you include in yours?