Upon reading the title of this blog post, describing myself as a 3, your first thought may have been to assume that I was rating myself based on looks.  That’s not where this is going.  You may also have thought this was in reference to Enneagrams, and that I was telling you my Enneagram number.  That’s also not where this is going.

For context, I started this blog about one year ago, mainly as a non-Facebook writing outlet and something to do during the pandemic.  In the process of starting this blog, I was advised that good blogs have an “About Me” page, so that people reading it can get to know the writer better and more closely connect with the subject matter.  Except, I hate describing myself.  So, if you check out this page by clicking on the “About Me” link above, you will see that most of my self-description is, “On a scale of 1 to 10, I’m a 3 in my ability to describe myself.”  In addition, if you check out my Twitter bio, (yes, I also have a Twitter; see my “Follow Me” page above), I have stated the same thing on my Twitter bio as well: “One a scale of 1 to 10, I’m a 3 in my ability to describe myself.”  This may cause you to wonder two things.  First, how did I come up with this line?  And secondly, why do I hate describing myself?

First, this line comes from an episode of The Office.  Michael Scott is set up on a blind date with someone at a coffee shop.  After being told that his date has brown hair and will be wearing blue jeans and a black top, Michael arrives and sees a young lady whom he finds attractive, but looks nothing like this description.  Although this is obviously not the woman whom he is meeting, Michael assumes it’s her anyway and tells the camera, “I’ll give her a 10 for looks and a 3 for her ability to describe herself.”  So, yes, my claim that I am a 3 in my ability to describe myself is a line taken directly from The Office.  I had also considered borrowing another scene from a different episode instead, in which Dwight Schrute has a job interview with a different company and says, “How would I describe myself?  Three words: hardworking, alpha male, jackhammer … merciless … insatiable.”  But in the end, I decided that this line wasn’t quite as accurate about myself.

Secondly, why do I not like to describe myself?  The question, “How would you describe yourself?” is just one of several questions that make me uncomfortable because I don’t know what to do with it.  I understand that it’s a common question, and people generally ask this with the best of intentions, but I never know how to answer.  (I actually have a list of several questions that make me cringe, but to list each of these questions and the reasons for each will lead me down a rabbit trail, and will have to be the subject for another post.)

As far as my social media bio, for one thing, I’m not a public person by nature, and I don’t want to put too much information.  I’m obviously not going to give you my Social Security Number on here.  For another thing, for anything I say about myself, people will automatically make assumptions.  For example, I did put that I’m from Indiana.  So, if you don’t know me, you might have scoffed and said, “This guy’s just some hick farmer; therefore, everything he says is ridiculous.”  (No, I’m not a farmer; I’m just picking a common stereotype about Hoosiers.)  There’s something about having a couple short sentences about yourself automatically define you and pigeonhole you into some stereotype that doesn’t sit well with me.  So, rather than say too much “About Me”, I decided that I would prefer to just borrow a clever line from a show and then let my writing do my talking for me.

A couple years ago, my pastor challenged the congregation during a Sunday message that if they used social media (whether Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.), to go back and look at their last 25 posts.  He asked, “What are you telling the world with your last 25 posts?”  The main point behind the question, particularly in the context of living in the “selfie age” was, “Does it all point to yourself?  Does any of it point to Jesus?”  I wasn’t even on social media at that time, but for some reason, that has stuck with me.  I think it’s a really good question to consider as a Christian.  But it also got me thinking, even in general, for people who are on any sort of social media, suppose the only thing people know about us is our last 25 posts.  What would people learn?  Are we satisfied with what we are telling the world with our last 25 posts?  Are we making the sort of impression online that would we would want to make?  Or would we want to go back and do any editing or deleting?

I started this blog one year ago this month, and this is now my 32^nd blog post.  I trust that the last 25 posts, and really all 32 of them so far, have been more informative (and also more interesting) than a simple “About Me” page and description ever could be.  So, if you want to know more, you can always go back and read all my previous blog posts from the past year and look forward to however many more posts I crank out over the course of the next year.  Until next time, I’m Ryan, and I’m a 3.

“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”  (John 3:3)