I’m a sailing instructor. I work for a finance institution.

I work on yachts. I work in an office.

I live in Lanzarote. I live in London.

There was a point not long ago where my life forked, where I was offered two very different opportunities, both were tempting for very different reasons, and I took the London fork. Was it the right one?

What is the per se “right” choice when you are faced with such different decisions? How do you decide? How do you know, after the fact? And do you stop being the person who would have made the other choice, taken the other path?

I don’t think so. I’m still the other person, I still pause when someone asks me the question of what I “do”. I know where I live, I know where I work, I know who expects to see me on Monday; but I haven’t lost the qualifications I hard earned over the last few years, and the experiences are something I will carry with me forever, even if I never officially act in my capacity as a Cruising Instructor again, it is still part of who I am.

And that’s something I’m sure a lot of you can relate to. Who are you? What do you do?

You’re a lawyer. A mother. A marathon runner. A mountain climber. A teacher. A horserider. A keen cross stitcher. A father. A carer. A swimmer. A brother. A thespian. A pilot. A yachtmaster. An engineer. A sister. A COO. A friend.

Who are we to say that it is that what we do for a living which most defines us. Our loves and our dreams, our past and our achievements, make up so much of that too.

Our whole picture is far greater than just one of our parts.

I have never been a girl in a box, and I don’t plan to start now.