How many times have you been at a party, and the person you have just been introduced to asks you, “What do you do?” I know my first instinct is to drone on about my boring day job.

But that all changed a while ago. I met a young woman and asked the standard ‘get to know ya’ question, “What do you do?”

She replied, “You mean for work, or what do I enjoy?”

I absolutely loved this. I responded. “What you enjoy, of course!”

She went on to tell me about her love of music. She didn’t play it, but loved to listen to it, and constantly went to hear bands. This sparked a further interesting conversation between us as we talked about bands we’d both seen, and music we mutually loved. But best of all, her response left a huge impression on me.

Why do we identify ourselves with our day jobs? For those of you who are lucky enough to get paid to do what you love, kudos to you. You’re all set. But for the rest of us who consider our day jobs a means to pay the mortgage, let’s all start answering that question this girl’s way. I’ll kick us off.

Partygoer: “What do you do?”

Melissa: “I write novels, listen to tons of audiobooks and search for mango ice cream to rival that of Blue Mountain Beach Creamery in Santa Rosa Beach.”

Surely there’s something in there to start a decent conversation.