Knowing who you are is incredibly important. Being able to tell your story and articulate it clearly is crucial to doing this work. No matter who you are, we all embody subjectivities that influence how we go about our daily lives and do our work.

None of us are exempt. Whether you are an educator, a researcher, case manager, lawyer or sanitation worker we've all been socialized to believe certain things. Taking stock and thinking critically about these things is foundational to Coaching for Equity. The author Elena Aguilar demonstrates this level of intentional self awareness when she writes:

"What I know is this: I know what it's like to be a cisgendered, able-bodied, neurotypical, heterosexual woman of color who is married to an African American man who can afford to send our son to private school" (p. 18)

In this brief sentence, she narrates her identity along lines of gender expression, ability, sexual orientation, race, class and marital status. She is clear that this will impact her outlook and output. You did the same thing during the Mapping Your Identity activity as part of our session. Following in Aguilar's example, your assignment is to extend this analysis and write a brief "Story of Self" that demonstrates your own self awareness. Using a storytelling format, in the discussion board below critically examine who you are and how you became that way. Consider the following ideas and how they have or have not had an impact on you.

• Where and to whom were you born?
• How and during what time period were you raised?
• What are the various identities you embody and how have they shaped you (i.e. race, class, gender, etc.)?
• What have been your experiences with people different than you? How have they shaped your outlook?
• Who or what have you not had experiences with? How might that impact your perspective?

If you are having trouble thinking about these things, the "I Am" poem prompt is included to help get you thinking about these things. This should help to surface key considerations of memories.