After Treatment, Who Are You?

When I was in college I had a Jesuit Priest who taught  “Introduction to Philosophy”. Father Buallo was about 6’4 and extremely large. Wearing all black and a white collar, it was somewhat daunting to have him peering down at the class.  He would tower over our desks as he walked around the room asking us open-ended questions that would stupefy the wisest freshman.

In the beginning of the program he hovered over my desk and proceeded to ask the question, “Who are you Genae”. Gulp, I had no idea what he was talking about. Was I supposed to give a dissertation on my chronological childhood? Was I supposed to give a typical canned philosophical answer that answered a question with a question? I was stumped.

Going through my treatments I arrived at some similar questions. I began to feel as if I was losing my identity due to weight gain, loss of hair, eyebrows and body parts. After treatment I wondered, “Who are you Genae”?  Pondering that question I turned to my arsenal of marketing and creative skills.  I decided to write down all of the stories in my life that made a difference. They were not necessarily happy or tragic. They were stories that shaped me in one way or another.

As I finished this process, I went through and circled the common themes throughout.  These common themes were my Genae blueprint. They reflected my uniqueness and my quirky personality traits. To my delight the process allowed me to reunite with my gifts, talents and passions. Like an emergency ladder, it pulled me out of the treatment pit and allowed me to regain my relationship with myself.  Score: Genae-1, Cancer-0.