ice-breaker.

I consider myself an extrovert. A people-person you could say. And even so, there are times that I enter an introverted bubble. To be honest, it’s not completely by choice. It’s just that life has given my the highest of highs and the lowest of lows and I bounce back & forth – introvert to ex – in & out, in the latter most of the time, until I find a comfortable middle ground. Thank you, meds!

Covid. What a time to be alive, am I right? I’ve pushed my own pause button, partially because everything else – all of what allows my extroverted excursions to enter – is also paused or postponed. And as I walk around with my mask on, my people-person norm off, it’s really forced me to reflect on how I want to re-enter the “real world” once that long-awaited vaccine makes its way to the world.

I love meeting new people. It’s pretty much my all-time favorite hobby on the regular. In these times of covid – coinciding with a time of reflecting and recovery for myself – I found myself reconsidering how I want my favorite hobby to makes its new debut once I come out of this introvert, covid-times shell. Keep in mind: behind those masks, we don’t know the struggles and hardships that a person could be hiding.

So, here we are in this really bizarre time, in this slow-moving still beautiful time, and I found myself learning a lot… not only about myself but how I want to be a better people-meeter when I’m back in my (more-me) people-person self. The other day I found myself at a party full of strangers. This type of scene is typically the type of scene when I’m in my element. And yet, the timing is tough. So when strangers’ first ice-breaker to me was: What do you do? I froze. I read, I write, I juggle (mostly brain-enhancing tasks), I cook, I clean, I color. I know that’s not the answer they’re looking for. My brand is #awkwardMartha and let me tell you, I felt extra awkward then. Remember, we don’t know what burdens are hidden behind those masks.

What do you do? If you would’ve asked “old me” that question I would’ve been on cloud 9. My job was a part of my identity. My passion. I lacked a work-life balance though and it affected my well-being. By a lot. I found myself having to create a “new me”. What’s going to become an #awkwarderMartha, a more memorable Martha, one that’s more aware of creating healthy boundaries. And I promise my people-person self that I will never use the ice breaker question, “What do you do?” again, because not everyone’s brand is #awkward. There are so many other ice-breaker questions like: Where are you from? What do you like to do for fun these days? What are your favorite foods? Ditch the discomfort you could create for people by ditching the “What do you do?”

What do you think?