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Honored & Humbled To Be: Why You Should Have Main Character Energy


Image depicts Meryl Strep (Donna Sheridan), Julie Walters (Rosie Mulligan), and Christine Baranski (Tanya Chesham-Leigh) singing the ABBA song Dancing Queen.
Image courtesy of Universal Pictures.

(Image courtesy of REX FEATURES.)


When you finally have the job, sometimes it is essential to reflect on past experience. So, take a look back at a piece I wrote during the thick of my job hunt.



In graduate school, a professor decided to post part of a job application I submitted on their LinkedIn. The teacher wanted to use my application’s answers to their LinkedIn connections to showcase the “fine line” between humility and pride. Thus, the professional professed that a person should never be “honored or humbled to be a part of a team.” The educator ended their tirade by proposing that a syntax change could result in a more advantageous application. Safe to say, I did not get the job. While the erudite might not have seen my light. Perhaps I should illuminate the importance of being a self-advocate.   



(Gif courtesy of Wix.)


A job application is a professional first date. You discuss the time you overcame a challenge. You pontificate about your ability to be a team player. You extol your past work and showcase your potential. You do not discuss how you learned your lessons. You do not explore your emotional complexities. You do not scrutinize your traumas. The words on the screen or paper are only one way to describe yourself. And isn’t that wonderful? The words you describe yourself will never capture the joy of making someone happy. Your resume will never contextualize how you support your friends and family. Your accomplishments will never define the effort and patience you practiced.



Image depicts America Ferrera (carmen), Amber Tamblyn (tibby), Alexis Bledel (lena), and Blake Lively (bridget) walking together.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.


During Covid, many people used Zoom for communal support. Thus, Zoom created a Dickensian constraint- your online persona should be vulnerable, but your in-person reality should be secure. You were extolled for saying your feelings into the cyber cosmos. You were sneered for wanting to discuss issues in real life.



The term Main Character Energy (MCE) describes someone who is extremely self-confident. A main character never has failures but rather challenges. On TikTok, there is a growing trend about MCE. People want to have MCE. People post videos about how to achieve MCE. The only way to have it is to adhere to what a middle school teacher told me when I was twelve,” no one knows what you’re thinking until you tell them.” You have the power to determine what you want the world to know. You have the freedom to vocalize anything about your life. What you share is up to you. On a job application, I choose to only look at the positive. I decided to put my best foot forward. I choose to have MCE. And I would be honored and humbled to learn that I have the power to share my story.



Taylor Swift during the eras tour.
Image courtesy of Kevin Mazur / Getty for TAS.



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Me on my first day of graduate school

Rachel Huss

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