Identity of Self: Blog 2

I have been asking myself a lot recently why I chose an occupation that I have never been interested in. I could have chosen something that I could easily do without any resistance, but instead, I chose bowling... why? When considering this question with my ongoing formation of identity I realized that my identity and perception of self has a lot to do with my new occupation. Self-Knowledge is the concept of how one describes oneself. This concept of self-knowledge made me realize that I would describe myself as an open-minded, family-oriented, and determined person. My concept of self is exactly why I choose bowling as my occupation. I wanted to be able to be open-minded about getting back into something I didn't necessarily like in the past. My value of quality time with my family also played a big part in this considering that they love to bowl and I often miss out on the opportunity to spend time with them because I don't know how to bowl. I come from a very competitive family whether it is Yahtzee, cornhole, or seeing how many grapes one can eat we are competing. In the past, I think that my fear of messing up my identity by not being good at something stopped me from bowling. When I think about this I get a little disappointed in myself that I would let something so small stop me from participating in what I am learning is a fairly fun sport.

    With these concepts in mind, I decided that this was the week that I would finally break the streak and walk back into a bowling alley. I knew I couldn't do this alone, so I contacted my high school friend Rachel. Rachel is what you would call a bowling expert. She competes in a traveling league and owns all her own equipment. I will be completely honest when I first walked into the bowling alley I got a little intimidated when she pulled out her shoes and ball. I started to question why I would ask the best bowler I know to participate in my occupation which I haven't done in years. I decided instead of worrying about the small things like doing bad or embarrassing myself; I would focus on enjoying myself in the moment and learning as much from her as I possibly could. I ended up having a lot of fun and actually even beat my highest score which is so low I think my unborn niece could beat it, but this leaves a lot of room for improvement. I learned that bowling with a friend made me feel a lot more comfortable and less resentful to get there. However, one of my biggest goals this semester is to bowl alone. I think I will learn a lot about myself doing this. 

    My past, my present, and my future truly shape my occupational biography. Growing up I was heavily involved in sports. Playing sports truly shaped me into the person I am today. Like most people, when I stopped playing sports my sense of "self" was definitely at risk. However, I am realizing that by adding occupations where I can still feel the aspects of competition and challenge I am filling in that void that I felt for a long time. Our occupations define our occupation biography. While playing basketball, volleyball, etc. outlined the start of my journey... I am glad to start learning an occupation that not only can continue to shape my occupational biography but that my knees can handle as well. 

I totally forgot to take pictures, but enjoy this photo of Rachel's bowling league after they won in Las Vegas... because impressive!

References: 

Raanaas, Ruth Kjaersti., Lund, Anne., Sveen, Unni., & Asbjornslett, Monda. (2019) Re-creating self-identity and meaning through occupations during expected and unexpected transitions in life, Journal of Occupational Science, 26(2), 211-218, DOI: 10.1080-14427591.2019.1592011