February 9, 2009

By Crystal Star/Doreen Ruggiero

10:46 AM

Who are you…? Really?

Have you ever thought about what you would answer if asked who are you? In a job interview you are asked Tell me about yourself, the answer to this question differs from who are you. The interviewer wants a description of what qualities you posses that are applicable to the position of which you are applying as well as your work attitude. When asked who are you we normally reply I am; name, physical description; height, weight, looks, relative to; I am Donna’s sister, Natalie’s mom and the like, religious & nationality agenda; I am a Christian, Sicilian/mix and maybe give our birth place, and possibly we give other general/surface information. The word you is just a reference point as in; you are responsible for teaching your children values they can use throughout life. So, how then do we answer the question who are you? To me this is asking how do I distinguish myself from others, in other words what makes me stand out.

What would be a more accurate description or answer to the question, who are you? We would give a name as this is how humans identify each other, unless you are speaking to a customer service representative at a credit-card-company, in which case you are identified by a number first and then name second. Possibly a more true picture of who we really are would include the following:

1. Name

2. Status

3. Relative role

4. Job position

5. Religious preference

6. Hobbies/pass times

7. Ethical and moral values/beliefs

8. What is important to you?

9. Distinctiveness or characteristics.

This is what my answer would be

1. I am Doreen Ruggiero

2. A divorcee & US citizen

3. Have 4 children, 6 grandchildren

4. Retired Leasing Agent/bookkeeper

5. I am a Seventh Day Adventists, former Roman Catholic and believer that Jesus Christ is my savior.

6. My hobbies/interests are writing business letters, self-improvement, How To articles & essays, pen-paling, reading, walking, and helping people with their problems.

7. I am a strong believer in keeping my word with a follow through behavior/attitude and I am strong in my beliefs enough to defend them if necessary

8. The things that are important to me in any relationship is intelligence, applicable common-sense, straightforwardness, sincere & in depth communication, high-quality moral values and being trustworthy (good for your word).

9. I feel that my strict beliefs, straightforwardness, sincere communication style, moral values, follow through habit and trustworthiness, reliable behavior, and problem-solving-ability makes me worthy of being a valued employee or friend.

This is how I view myself and this IS who I am.

[I could not answer this question without including what I stand for or believe in & my practices and attitudes that are ingrained in me so avidly that it is the true me. This is why I include these attributes in my answer to this question.]

Another approach would be: Words that describe me are: Intelligent, Straightforward, say what I mean and mean what I say, great common-sense, good for my word, trustworthy, business writer, professional organizer, Christian (believer in Jesus Christ), sincere, problem solver, articulate writer and communicator, analytical thinker, pen-paler, high morals/values, somewhat controlling on certain issues, Taurus (May born), hard worker, fun, friendly, loner, loyal friend, and reliable.

Now, how would you answer: Who are you?