Leaving the Goody-Goodie Behind

At work, I’m rapidly gaining a reputation that I need to discard. I am quickly becoming the safe, boring black girl on the team. It is becoming rather obvious because ain’t that many black girls to begin with and second of all, ain’t that many that fall into the goody-goodie category. I think all this is coming from our oga pata pata (boss’s boss) saying something about me being somewhat of a goody-goodie. People thought it was a compliment but inside I was like, “I’m never going to get anywhere now”.

This whole thing has got me worried. Probably because I have seen that there’s not too much in a goody-goodie’s future career-wise. The goody-goodie is only good for doing the stuff that nobody wants to do but everyone knows the goody-goodie will do without complaining. I am worried about being excluded from the upward-bound list at work because of their impression of me. It all sounds so high school to me even as I write this.

Whenever we go out as a group, I NEVER drink. NEVER. EVER. That of course makes my situation worse. The last time the team met up for drinks at a wine bar, I ordered bottled water. The thing is, I think it is tacky to drink on the job or outside work with work folks. I have seen way too many people act inappropriately because of alcohol to know that I never want to be like that. This is coming for somebody that has never gotten drunk. I just don’t want to take any chances.

So, I have decided that the next best thing I can do is to stop looking so dowdy at work. My work style is way too conservative - probably because I've become more conservative outside of work. When I look at the people at the top, most of them got some element of je ne sais quoi about them, in addition to having the necessary skill set needed to do the work. I sense a relooking coming.