Lifelong learning: Justifying who we are

I recently heard a conversation where one lady asked another, “What do you do for a living?” The other lady replied, “I’m just a stay-at-home mom.”

I actually jumped into their conversation and said, “That is so awesome. I wish I could be a stay-at-home mom. That’s one of the hardest jobs ever.” I hated that this women was using the word “just” to explain that she was “only” something. She was degrading herself. When people use that word to describe themselves, or something they have done, I really feel like they are selling themselves short. Why should anyone do that? There are enough negativ...