Here Are Some Things

Here is a list of things:

Woman

Man

First Generation High School Graduate

Christian

Muslim

Jew

Hindu

Buddhist

Atheist

Democrat

Republican

Progressive

Green Party

Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender

Person with a Disability

Black or African American

Asian or Pacific Islander American

Latino/a or Hispanic American

Native American

Middle Eastern

White

Bi-racial                                                         

Fan of a particular sport                  

Music Fan (what kind?)

Healthy/Athletic/Over-/Under-Weight

Urban Dweller

Country Dweller

Musician

Artist (what kind?)

Student Athlete

Other identities

And I'm supposed to classify myself as 3 of these. You know me. I could rant about any of these. I hate having to identify and classify myself. Let me try: 



WOMAN There's so much power and history behind that word. Views of women around the world are very different, but it's still an empowering identity. I don't assert my womanlyness, so hopefully people in Japan won't be intimidated by how much female they're getting, but I don't see any real problem here. 

MUSICIAN This is definitely something I include as part of me. I'm not a traditional musician, per say, like my parents who go out with their friends and write songs and book gigs. I'm not that ambitious or experienced. I do, however, practice guitar like a fiend and bring my mandolin on every overnight trip. The mandolin is coming to Japan. I hear classical Irish music is a thing in Japan, so perhaps I can make friends by troubador-ing around with the book of Gaelic fiddle tunes .

GEEK Before my mother reads this and gives me a lecture about "sending positive messages", I need to clarify. Geek and nerd are not interchangeable. If you don't believe me, I suggest you do some research. I hear there are a lot of cool geeks in Japan. In fact, the Japanese word for a slightly more obsessive degree of geek is オタク, or otaku. (if you're going to use this in conversation, it's pronounced o-tock). <-- #GeekStatus

So, in the grand scheme of things, I suppose a musical she-nerd (I know, I broke my rule) isn't the worst thing I could possibly identify as. There are others on that list (you know how much I love the race categories) but I think these will do just as well.