Life’s Curriculum Vitae
The definition of Curriculum Vitae (CV) is a “brief account of one’s life” from the Latin “course of life,” according to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary.
Like many emerging writers, I have learned to celebrate my failures. As artists we have to. Failure becomes a form of motivation to a seasoned artist, where it might crush a young artist. And to those that have been steadily practising their craft, failure simply indicates that we are that much closer to our goals. In short, failure is simply a close call.
One of the signposts of failure that really gets to me is gaps in my list of publication credits. For whatever reason, I get annoyed when there are months and months between one publication date and the next. Maybe it is because it seems as if my writing career isn’t progressing. Or, maybe it’s a hold-over from my corporate business life where resume gaps between jobs are not only career-limiting, they also require lengthy (and sometimes fabricated) explanations to hiring managers.
With too many works-in-progress and too much time between completed writing projects, I decided to turn my attention to the milestones in my personal life to see if they matched, or out-ranked my writing credits. I decided to write a Life CV.
Sometimes we need proof of a life lived
As it turned out, this was a valuable exercise; standing on the other side 40, I was better able to view my choices and decisions with positive reflection by detailing the landmarks in my life—highlights as well as the low points; it was refreshing to look at the first four decades of my life based on the maxim “it’s the journey, not the destination.”
If you are experiencing regret, or remorse, or wonder about the path you took to where you are now, try your hand at writing a life CV. Write it just as you would a resume to get a job, but with dates and events that highlight the adventures you’ve had in your life. Remember, the definition of “adventure” here is loose. You can almost call the entries “interesting things” the purpose here is to list any incident or event that was interesting or special to you. And if you don’t believe that you’ve done any interesting things, or had any adventures, start making notes. I can guarantee that you will uncover some experiences that you’ve forgotten about. Of course, there are those that haunt you and you ought to include them, too. They’ll look minor when compared against a stack of awesome activities.
With pen in hand, create a timeline.
- Start with your date of birth and lists all the “firsts”—first romantic interest, first kiss, first crush, the date you got your driver’s licence, your first car accident.
- List any memorable academic accomplishments, or the year you dropped out of high school.
- List any special events in which you were particularly happy, or particularly sad.
Before long, you’ll have a handful of dates and milestones.
- Continue with any evens you consider adventures, like white water rafting, or camping with high school friends after prom, or a gruelling canoe trip with an adventure-seeking boyfriend.
- Write all the dates of trips you took as a child with your family, or the first poem you had published, or the one piano/dance/choir recital in which you performed.
- Maybe you have shelves filled with hockey trophies, or ribbons from horseback riding. Write down the those dates.
Depending on your personal situation, you may want to separate your “good” and “bad” experiences. Please don’t. It is more important to create a chronological list than to identify and label the experience. Trust the process.
Even seemingly innocuous, minor events are achievements
Get these seemingly small accomplishments down on the page, then spend some time typing the notes into a professional looking CV. Add subheadings like “Adventures/Facing My Fears” under which you might add public speaking (yes, even one speech counts), or a helicopter ride (fear of heights, of dying), or attending an event for a favourite author alone in which you are required to mingle with strangers (shyness).
Sometimes we need proof of a life lived.
In daily living or when in times of emotional distress, it’s tough to come to grips with positive aspects of our pasts, which we need to do, so that we can keep moving forward. Smaller, joyful moments can get overshadowed in our memories by the larger, dramatic ones making us forget the awesomeness of them. Listing them on paper allows you to see your personal life beyond your work- and career-related accomplishments.
Once you’ve typed and edited, revised and proofread the CV, put it away. Now you can move forward. You’ll want to add to it.
Task: Write a Life CV. Follow the steps in this essay to create a curriculum vitae for your personal life then consider what experiences you would like to add to it. Then take whatever action is necessary to fulfill the experience.