Beyond Titles and Tinsel
Tis the holiday party season. Walking down the buzzing 14th street in DC, I can’t help but to be dazzled by festive dresses, colorful tights, and glittering makeup and hairstyles meant for celebrating a wonderful year. It could be personally, professionally, or whatever your life is about. Quite the contrary, I was not in a cheery mood – there was a sense of emptiness, frustration, and a loss of who I am, so tightly built on the foundation of what I do professionally.
For many, it is normal at a holiday party to talk about work and accomplishments, a seemingly external facade of “I’ve made it this year.” But what does one talk about when those social validations are temporarily unavailable?
Right before walking into a holiday party, my friend and I ran into a family with a sweet little boy, restless and excited about something. I asked his name and age, and to our astonishment, he said, “my name is Connor: I have diabetes.” It was his innocence, adorableness, and filterless honesty that taught me that I don’t need a Tier 1 company name or a prestigious job title to introduce myself, feel secure, and enjoy social occasions. So this evening, at this holiday party I was dreading to attend, I talked about cookie recipes, belly dancing, and Blue Eyed Samurai, and I felt welcomed, connected, and festive.
Evelyn Chou, What a thoughtful and honest article. Thank you for sharing. I often find myself starting conversations about non professional topics at such events.. For example food, travel, favorite tradition related to said holiday, or being a resource parent. Someone I know starts by asking: ‘ so what’s your story?’ It let’s people pick what they want to talk about. You can learn unexpected things about someone and connect at a deeper level. If you want to stay on the professional subject, career transition can be a great topic.. so many of us are going through such transition several times in our lives, and people are happy to share what they learned from their experience. The cookies were very yummy!! Thank you Saleema Vellani for hosting such a warm gathering.
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1 年I talk about my family and newsletter ?? Not about work because that's just 1 dimension of me lol.
Founder & CEO of Ripple Impact | Keynote Speaker | Award-Winning Author | Angel Investor | Harvard OPM | EO Member
1 年Loved seeing you last night. Your cookies were actually a great way to introduce yourself, they made everyone smile. :-) Your article was touching, thanks for sharing. Happy holidays! Evelyn