This realization, from a conversation with a coworker. I made a reference to the term 'punk.' How a past boyfriend hated me calling him it, likely because he grew up skateboarding, was used to hearing that term in a derogatory sense.
"You dated a skateboarder?!" my coworker responded.
And yes, I did. In fact, two. Three if you count the fact that Spencer once skateboarded. The coworker joked that there was a lot about me she didn't know, and I then went on to spout off randomness about my past. I was snowboard instructor. Van Warped Tour used to be my thing. Making hemp jewelry, my hobby. It's a part of my life I still sort of identify with, even though I've left it behind. And everyone I've met in the last five years knows little about it.
So for the last day I've been questioning, who am I? How do people view me? I still think of myself as a curly haired snowboarder with a long list of friends and an even longer list of activities. Who knows every new band before anyone else. But that's not who I am now. I date a former-skateboarder, who works 9-5, wears a collared shirt. I volunteer some. I read. I try to run. I'm not up on music at all. And I don't have that many friends. Or at least new friends.
Life is different for me now. Part of growing up, I guess. And I'm just now understanding how people's understanding of me has changed too. They don't necessarily like me more or less, but their image of me is different.
Of course, off of that, I can't help but wonder what about my parents have I miss out on? What don't I get about their 20s, about who they were before they 'grew up'? And what about every other person I interact with? They've likely changed a lot too. Identify themselves in a way completely different than I view them.
Just thoughts.
