OCCUPATIONAL IDENTITYSOME OCCUPATIONS THAT HAVE SHAPED WHO I AM AND WHO I WILL BE.

CHRIS CAMPBELL 2015.

LEARNINGBeing a lifelong learner is part of my identity. Having new things to think about energises me. Currently I am a full time student so the occupation of learning structures my days.

AUNTYI am the proud Aunty of three wonderful boys. They bring joy and fun into my life. It is a role that gives me the chance to be a kid again and go on adventures.

THERAPISTI have been a speech-language therapist in the past and am studying to become an occupational therapist in the future. Therapy is a role I enjoy because it is about people and is both challenging and rewarding.

HOME OWNERThe advent of the Christchurch earthquakes and returning to study has stretched homeownership in ways I never imagined. I have been a project manager, insurance lobbyist, land and building assessor, landlord….. It has become so much more than making the mortgage payments and choosing paint colours for the spare room.

TRAVELTravel is an occupation I have engaged in throughout my life. Exciting, interesting, not always easy, sometimes even boring, travel has given me wonderful friends, memories and a different lens for looking at myself and the world.

GARDENINGGardening is something I have taken up in the last few years. I love being able to grow my own food and time in the garden nourishes my soul as well. Gardening also gives me a common interest with my elderly neighbour, who has become my gardening mentor.

CHRISTIANITYMy Christian faith is part of my occupational identity. It allows me to belong to communities of Christians wherever I travel or live, sharing in common activities like meeting for worship and study. However, my faith is mostly a private occupation involving meditation, prayer and study that draws on both protestant and catholic traditions.

**I found this picture in an op shop and hung it on my wall. It tells a beautiful story of quiet faith that inspires me.

MAKING & RESTORINGMaking is something I love to do in my leisure time. When I am in the middle of making something I experience a sense of flow, a sense of being my self. Restoring things or using up waste fits with my values about conserving our world.

**Here is an example of a chair I restored and a table I made.

WALKINGWalking slows life down and allows time to talk, reflect and observe. It is something I have always done. I like that you can walk alone or with others and you can do it in greenspaces or the city. It is an acceptable form of exercise for women all over the world.

WORKING

I have been a paid and unpaid worker in a whole range of roles and circumstances since the age of 16. Work has shaped my identity through the skills I have learned, the people I have met and the challenges I have faced.

**This was our taxi dispatch office during the Christchurch earthquakes, a tent, a couple of cell phones and RT running off a car battery! The sand flies were unbearable but we kept the city moving.