AKA

Since I began exploring the bloggy world, I’ve enjoyed aka Lucy’s approach to life with the help of her alter ego.

Then I was just flicking through a book called Temp by Deborahann Smith. Subtitled “How to Survive and Thrive in the World of Temporary Employment”, I’ve had it for a while and can thoroughly recommend it. (I’m considering trying to solve some of my work/life balance issues through temp work, but that’s another story.)

Anyway, Deborahann also has an alter ego. Let me read you a bit from her book about Gladys A Frumpworth IV, “The Temp from Hell”:

Gladys appeared in my life a few months into my temping career. She isn’t called the Temp from Hell because she is hellacious, but because she knows her own mind and lives by it, a quality that people often fear. If she disagrees with the motivation of a business (e.g. nuclear power plants), she won’t take the job. If she feels uncomfortable with certain skills … she won’t accept an assignment. She believes that everyone deserves respect, no matter what.

Gladys is the type of person who had screaming red hair and a gravelly voice from the day of birth. She has bright green eyes and a mischievous grin. She is a no-nonsense worker who applies herself to everything with gusto. At the same time, Gladys is basically kind…

So I’ve been thinking about this alter ego business. Perhaps it’s a second chance. A way to reinvent yourself in a creative way. To support who you are at the moment with who you’re growing towards.

Identity is something we can play with on the internet, hence the popularity of worlds like Second Life. (No, I’m not a 2nd Lifer, but not for want of trying, I can’t get it to load on this computer!)

And sometimes we can bring our real life identity into line with what we feel ourselves to be: Maya at Chai Time gave us a wonderful example of this when she changed her name.

So poised on the threshold of the end of menopause (a very special and precious time) I wonder who I want to allow myself to be as I grow older. I feel an alter ego coming on. More soon…