On Becoming

I've loved listening to Michelle Obama's memoir, "Becoming." She comes across as down-to-earth, caring and real. So candid. It was quite astounding to hear how many times she regarded herself as 'not good enough,' and second-guessed her capability. How many of us can relate to that?

One of the messages that struck me early on in the book, was how she realized that schooling and society expect each of us to become one specialized thing - a pilot, or a librarian, or a technician, or a plumber. She made me aware of how multi-faceted we are, and how we don't have to have just one role we're good at; that we can BE more than just one thing, can have more than one role, and they can all co-exist and complement each other. We can be good at all of them, and grow from each of them. Our lives are a journey of learning and becoming.

I particularly respected the importance she placed on family and raising children.

And it makes me reflect on my own life's journey, and feel I can relate wholeheartedly. There's time and space to 'become' throughout our lives, no matter the pleats and convolutions we encounter - see my recent thoughts on Living My Dream (https://vignettes.mixmox.com/2021/08/living-my-dream.html)