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I have started to compile a list of ‘I’ statements that describe who I am. I thought that if traditional self-portraits were too limited in scope to say something meaningful about who I am; beyond what I look like, then what about a series of statements that comprehensively describe everything about me (both seen and unseen).

  1. I am a son
  2. I am a brother
  3. I am an uncle
  4. I am a father
  5. I am a cousin
  6. I am a son-in-law
  7. I am a Christian
  8. I am mixed-race
  9. I am a brother-in-law
  10. I am a husband
  11. I am an employee
  12. I am a manager
  13. I am teetotal
  14. I am a registered voter
  15. I am an Art Psychotherapist
  16. I am a driver
  17. I am an organ donor
  18. I am 33
  19. I am tax payer
  20. I am a British citizen
  21. I am a university graduate
  22. I am a commuter
  23. I am a Londoner
  24. I am football supporter
  25. I am a worrier
  26. I am a daydreamer
  27. I am a pacifist
  28. I am an introvert
  29. I am a non-smoker
  30. I am male
  31. I am a cyclist
  32. I am heterosexual
  33. I am a godfather
  34. I am right-handed
  35. I am slow
  36. I am medium build

What was interesting about this exercise was that these descriptions only make sense as a compilations of statements spoken or read together. As individual statements they say very little about me or recount general descriptions that might be true of anyone – male, average build, mixed race). Their power lies in in their grouping/ combination as well, as the statements that are left out or left unsaid. Writing these descriptions down also makes me wonder if each of the 36 statements have equal weighting or if some statements are more important than others. If so, does the list need to be reordered in some way?

Given more time, I also wonder what other things I could think to say about myself or how this list might change over time.


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