Stop asking me about my job

Periodically, I need to just vent. I have decided to put together several posts for that very reason. I'm not just pushing myself to open up, but I'm actually willing to go beyond what I really think on a number of issues. This is one of these posts. Expect this to turn out as an incomprehensible irrational rant.

What do I do for a living? Do I really have to answer? On a post like this, it's easy to hold back that information. When dealing with others more directly, I might have to divulge my deepest darkest secrets just to get people off my back.

How many times do I have to say this? Who I am is more important than what I am. I do not want to be judged by what I do for money. I would much rather be seen as who I actually am. Who am I? I will give you a hint. I am more than my job.

This is especially problematic for someone like me. I have never had a job that hasn't required me to betray myself. My current job, much like every job before it, completely misrepresents who I am as a person.

We have done so much to normalize the idea that we are our jobs. Have you ever watched a game show? They always ask about contestants' jobs.

I have to admit that I have been consistent in reluctantly spilling the beans when pushed. This is primarily to shut up the people who are asking. I always feel dirty afterwards. Why can't people just leave me alone. Stop asking me about my job. My job has always been completely irrelevant to who I am as a person, and I don't want people to see me as nothing more than how I betray myself to earn a paycheck.