Natalia Naman Temesgen: Embrace who you are and who you're becoming

Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to facilitate a seminar on playwriting as part of the eighth annual Chattahoochee Valley Writers Conference hosted at the Columbus Public Library. The Chattahoochee Valley Writers Inc. is a local organization that provides conferences, workshops, readings and more, "to support the advancement of writers throughout the Chattahoochee Valley and beyond."

My workshop comprised four bold individuals, only one of whom had ever written a play before. I envied the sheer newness of the path before them. I remembered how great it felt to write my first play, before I knew the "rules" of the trade or cared about acceptance or rejection letters.

These days, my colleagues and I are ever tempted to compare ourselves to the prize winners and Broadway stars, find our 'it-factor' and infuse it into our work, and churn out new plays with the speed of a Thoroughbred. We are supposed to be prolific, profitable, versatile, and talented, with a singular, unique style. Just writing a play doesn't seem to mean much.

But I'm reminded of something. "How do you become a playwright?" a student once asked. "Write a play," I replied. "That's the heart of it. Write a bad play. Write a three-minute play. Write a play with five protagonists, no conflict, and three endings. If you start it and finish it, you are a playwright."

How many times have we rejected the simplicity of our identity, because we aren't yet satisfied with the adjectives in front of the noun? If you run, you are a runner, regardless of your speed or how much gear you sport. If you parent your child, you are a parent, whether you work miles away from home or spend every day at her side. If you are studying, you are a student, even if you just bombed your last essay.

If we are merely what we do, then who are we?

A book called "The Wisdom of Insecurity" by Alan Watts presents methods for finding inner peace in the midst of the ongoing "Age of Anxiety." I read it once at the behest of a well-meaning friend and one takeaway has stayed with me. Watts asks the reader to value the present moment. The past is just a memory, he says, and the future is an idea. The present, however, is real; it's happening, and it's where and who you are. Watts believes that if one can appreciate the value of both "being" and "becoming," one will have greater peace of mind.

In light of this, I'm reminding myself to affirm my current identity, even while striving toward a specific version of it. I'm a wife. I'm a mother. I'm a playwright.

This story was originally published October 4, 2014 at 9:55 PM with the headline "Natalia Naman Temesgen: Embrace who you are and who you're becoming."