A few weeks ago, I was asked, “So tell us a little about yourself.” (I guess it’s less of a question and more of a statement, but whatever.) It wasn’t in the context of anything job related; it was for a volunteer position opportunity. And I found myself automatically defaulting to the response I gave during my one-year job search back in 2017-2018 when I was asked the same thing during job interviews.

And I know it wasn’t that big of a deal, but now I sort of regret my answer. Because it didn’t fully capture who I really am.

My spiel included when I graduated with my bachelor’s, my first post-graduation job, when I got my master’s degree, and my current job. Don’t get me wrong, all of that information was true and is part of who I am. But there’s a lot more I didn’t include:

• I’m a runner and I love doing 5K races
• I’m a big sports fan and I’m a Boston Red Sox, New York Giants, and Alabama football fan
• I have a blog that I really enjoy writing for and working on
• I’m an avid reader, read 84 books last year, and I recently started a book journal
• I love dogs and kittens and have two dogs and a cat as pets
• I like craft beer and trying new breweries
• My favorite TV show is Law & Order: SVU and my favorite movie is Little Miss Sunshine

Going forward, if I’m ever in a similar situation where I’m asked to describe myself, I want to include other highlights of who I am aside from my education and job credentials. I understand why some of us default to those—and they’re important, especially if you’ve worked really hard to get where you are today and you like what you do—but I believe there are other just as important things about us that others should know.

So my question for you guys is when you’re told to tell others about yourself, what do you say? You can either leave it in the comments or make your own post about it (if you do, be sure to link back to this post so I can see what you write).