Who Am I? (2-4-6-0-OOOONE!)
Snatch up this magnet for yourself or another sweet ‘n kickass gal you know at allisonstrine.
I had to title my post on authenticity with a cheesy musical theater reference* because hey….that’s me. A cheesy musical theater nerd. A sassafrass from Long Island. A perky life coach. A silly friend. A loving wife.
But something hasn’t sat well with me lately. I was reading some old posts, and noticed something, well, “off” in my tone. Everything I write here is so….peppy! And enthusiastic! And light & fun & bright! It’s optimism at it’s best, full of sprinkles & sunshine & unicorns! And ENERGY! And lots & lots of exclamation points!
Where the fuck is the cursing? Where are my cynical complaints? I know that pessimistic sailor is within me – most of my colleagues along the way have met her – but she’s nowhere in this blog. And that was, well, weird. And worrisome. I thought I wasn’t being authentic. I thought I was giving you a “fake” version of me.
But now I’ve realized: This IS me. This is me when I’m happy. And excited. And passionate. This is me when I’m talking about coaching, or I am coaching.
It’s been so long I forgot.
I’m tearing up a little as I write this, thinking of what’s waiting for me when I become a full-time coach, of enveloping myself in what keeps me peppy, and optimistic, & enthusiastic. Without having managers to bitch about or waking up in the morning with a pit in my stomach and sitting at a desk for 9 hours a day.
I want to be that girl. Or this girl – the one in the blog. She’s now just a little piece of me, but soon she’ll eat that pessimistic sailor for breakfast.
* 10 points if you knew that this lyric ends “Who Am I?” from Les Mis. And quite dramatically, I must add.
April 29th, 2009 at 9:22 am
i love this post michelle
— no more pits in the stomach! you get to be 100% michelle — how incredible is that!!! last day of class was today for my first year (how quickly did that go!) — one week until exams are over and then i'm a full time blog stalker of yours!! and i get to see you in one month how exciting!!!!!! just wanted to say hi 
love,
c
April 29th, 2009 at 9:40 am
Woo hoo – 1st year is DONE! I'm so excited for you, Carolyn. What exciting things you have to look forward to this summer, too. Total awesomeness.
And yes, I can't wait until the happily peppy gal that writes this blog is me more often than not. Not to say I won't have things to grouse or grumble about, but there's such a different energy to me when I'm coaching that I'd love to have more of the same!
April 29th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
I know exactly what you mean! But then we all have different sides to ourselves that are not always out there depending on the situation. Right? Great blog!
April 29th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
F*CK YEAH, Michelle! (Heehee…see, cursing can be optimistic and happy, too!) ;D Seriously, though, yay to you for digging in, checking it out, and coming out the other side wiser as to how you're growing, what lights you up, and what parts of you show up when you're lit up! I love, too, that you were willing to let the other stuff be there and show if it needed to. That speaks to the permission you do and will give your clients to show up in ALL of their authenticity. Woohoo!
April 30th, 2009 at 4:19 am
Evy – Oh, for sure! It was just so odd, because I felt – even though many would describe me as optimistic &/or enthusiastic – that I was only That Girl on this blog. Then I realized I was That Girl when I was coaching. I want to keep being That Girl!
Laura – I caught myself cursing during a session (as in "You're putting up with a lot of shit"), but yes – it was totally authentic & real, & conveyed what needed to. I must be a peppy sailor, then!
May 1st, 2009 at 5:37 am
Hey! Awesome blog! I just started my ICA training and have acting training from a hollywood intensive acting school, so we have that in common which is cool! I'm very psyched and passionate about coachign though. It's what I've been doing fro a long time and am stoked to to finally get going with it as a profession-career.
You have a LOT of traffic on your blog! I'm fucking jealous! lol. jokes.
May 1st, 2009 at 5:49 am
That's awesome, John! Welcome to ICA & to my fuckin' awesome blog. So glad you found me – it does seem like we have a lot in common! Keep me posted on your journey – its gonna be a roller-coaster ride. In a good way.
May 4th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Great post. Oh and I drove 6 hours today from Chapel Hill, NC to Atlanta and singing very loudly to the Les Mis soundtrack was one of the main ways I stayed awake. That one and One Day More are my favs.
May 5th, 2009 at 4:40 am
You're a smart one, Caitlin – that sounds like fun! Well, not the whole 6-hour-drive thing, but you did what you could to make it fun. And not die. So it's a win-win!
May 6th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Yeah, michelle I saw your "old" (before coaching) acting page. haha!! I have one of those too! lol. Am in the process of updating "the web" and having everything point (domains) ot coaching. Yeah, I'm stoked I found you. seriously a lot of overlap with the theater backstory. I deifinitely aspire to some of the success you've experience (like with radios/tv that win you posted, blog traffic – HUGE! — i have like zero readership so am working on that and general success) . So congrats on your success. Awesome style.
Oh it's DEFNITELY a rollercoaster ride and i've been on many of those but this ICA coaster is by far the most forward-living moving, success-inducing, fun, connectied. all good.
getting into the whole peercoaching thing which is awesome.
May 6th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
hey, who doesn't like a good roadtrip anyways?!
May 8th, 2009 at 4:33 am
Hey John! How'd you get to my acting page? I haven't updated that thing in forever. As in, like, a kajillion years. I should probably get it up-to-date but….I guess it's just not that important! I still want it out there though for when I audition. Because that happens, oh, once or twice a year.
Have you signed up for 31 Days to a Better Blog from ProBlogger? Everyone & there Mom is doing it, and you can join anytime. It's at http://www.problogger.net.
Glad you're having fun with ICA! Enjoy the ride!