Owning your story means…
Communicating who you are no matter where you are or who you’re talking to.,
Acknowledging the depth of your journey and all that you’ve learned,
Seeing yourself in a new way and being able to have others see you that way too.
I was recently working with a client who was applying for a position as the manager of an accessibility program for the disabled. In working on how she would respond to an interviewer’s request that she tell them something about herself, she blurted out, “How long have you got?”
She shared her work history with me: she did this, she did that, she did something else. Like so many of the dynamic and passionate women of color I work with, she has a diverse work history which has left her with a lot of skills and wisdom but with a resume that the professional (aka White Supremacist/neurotypical) world would call “scattered.”
And yet a deeper story emerged when she remarked about one position she’d taken, “In my core, I just knew this was it.”
I immediately asked her, “Would you say that you’re someone who has always followed her gut?”
“Yes,” she replied.
As we talked more, I probed more deeply, “Would you call yourself a Black woman with a disability who follows her gut?”
“Yes,” she affirmed again.
As our conversation continued, rather than a story of job hopping and career switching, I began to sense the deeper narrative she’d been living.
“Would you say that you are a Black woman with a disability who has worked through issues of internalized ableism and faced racial discrimination?,” I asked
“Yes,” she agreed.
“And that you are also a person who listens closely to people, understands their needs, and works to implement solutions?”
Listening to her, her seemingly unrelated work experiences revealed themselves not as the reflection of someone who could not make up her mind but of someone with a commitment to learning, growth and , most importantly, service. After 45 minutes, rather than ae long, winding tale, she was able to condense her entire work history into a quick 30-second story that was not about what she did, but who she was.
Sure, if you ask her, she can give you a ton of detail about all the things she’s done, but she can also say…
I am a Black woman with a disability who is attuned to people’s needs and works tirelessly towards getting them met. I am someone who, through working through my own internalized ableism, and learning to distinguish and advocate for my own needs, can support other disabled people to do the same.
Owning your story means presenting yourself not as merely as the facts of your past, but as a whole human being who has navigated every situation with a clear sense of identity and purpose. It means telling people who you really are — with pride and with confidence.
Interested in owning your story?
On June 6 and 13, between 10am - 12pm (PT), branding strategist Donaji Mejia will host and I will lead a group of values and community-focused women of color through the process of developing their own stories. Together we’ll identify beginnings, middles, and ends, look at key turning points, and distinguish the wisdom we’ve gained along the way.
Contact me for more information at jesi@representeditorial.com, learn more here, or register right now.
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