My life and times: an illustrated history

April 13, 2006 at 6:30 AM

“Tell me about yourself,” someone says. “Oh, no,” I think. “What does this person really want to know? How can I sell myself?” A lot depends on the context – my resume, a personal ad, an ad about myself as a violin teacher, a brief note for my church newsletter, an entry in my alumni magazine, a page on my website. I need a different approach for different readers. I am quiet, modest, and frequently overlooked and underappreciated. Recently I started thinking about how to portray myself to a wide variety of readers, starting with some of the defining experiences of my life. I made a timeline with important events within myself and in the outside world. I had a lot of fun doing the research for this. I remembered some events that were important, but often I did not remember the details or I remembered them incorrectly. Then I decided to look for pictures of some of these events, and that was fun, too. I called my document “My Life and Times: An Illustrated History,” and you can see it here. (If that link doesn't work, go to http://mysite.verizon.net/paulinefiddle/mlat.html) I’ve had some positive feedback on it already. One person told me that he felt that he almost knew me by reading it. I recommend doing something like this for entertainment. It sure beats watching TV.