i have to say, i appreciate having this choice in prompts. opens up the playing field.

this is a difficult question for me. when we strip down the qualities, the things we’re into, our obsessions, our families and relationships, what remains at the core? or are we those things? is the core something we should even bother trying to access? (i was a philosophy major in college, in case you couldn’t tell). these are glimpses, you know, only that, but i think it’s a valuable exercise. to what can we boil our essence down to.

who am i.

i’m a girl who is honestly tempted to respond “de girls dem sugar” to this prompt, and loves anyone who understands why.

i am a girl. i don’t feel comfortable calling myself a woman, though i suppose by now, it’s true. i’m twenty six, and a nonprofit employee. my name is dominique, and it’s a very fitting name for me.

i am a person with history and that history has weight. i’ve used that phrase before but it’s so very accurate. i am sometimes manipulative, but i always feel guilty when i realize what i’ve done. i am a person who is made very happy by very small things. i struggle with the concept of personal symbols – i can’t seem to find any. i am fine with piercings but afraid of tattoos. i am very specific, and observant. there are a lot of things that bother me, and i have several habits that could be classified in the obsessive-compulsive category. still, i think i am mostly alright.

i am often overwhelmed and i have a very busy brain. i am fairly insatiable when it comes to knowledge – it doesn’t really matter about what. i have new fascinations frequently. i love doing research. i am very, very into the idea of order – i like collections and neat lists, i like organizational systems, i like plans.

i do not have strong family ties. i lost several of my more important friendships about two years ago, and after some false starts i think i’m making headway into a new generation of friendships. still, it makes me sad that i’m not the kind of person that has a sister, or the same best friend since age 10. my roots, they are weak. i am not a nomad, but i could be comfortable that way. i don’t become tied to places.

i am olive skinned, and have dark curly hair and brown eyes. i look as though i could be from any one of a variety of cultures – latina, mediterranean, middle eastern. i am an original. i am witty, in my better moments, and engaging, although i imagine i border on obnoxious with my volume sometimes. i can be a bit much.

i come from new york, long island, but i don’t really feel like i do. i live in brooklyn now, and it’s strange. it’s such a very hip place to be and i am not a very hip person. but it’s got it’s tucked away charms and it’s not the place that makes the person, so for the moment, it’s good. i have lived all over the new york metro area.

i love chai tea, the internet, avocados, steak, a bunch of other foods, baking, scrapbook papers, the way it feels to exercise, reading. i do not love crowds, the nyc subway system, citrus flavored things, retail stores, country and metal music.

so tell me. who are you?