title: Occupational transitions: restructuring a life.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This personal reflection on occupational transitions is based on the life stories of two of the interesting people I met while in Chile, one in Santiago and the other in my travels to San Pedro de Atacama and how their stories have aided in strengthening my knowledge of occupational transitions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Purposeful restructuring of one's life is key to developing identity and meaningful engagement in daily and occupational life.
  
  
  METHODS
  Both Mauricio and Francisco share, through their occupational transition self-narratives, how they restructured their lives by finding out who they really were, as well as what was most important to them.
  
  
  RESULTS
  I believe that the consistent theme or catalyst of change within these stories is one of being unsatisfied with a current situation and as a result, making a conscious decision to recreate/restructure one's identity and sense of being.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  When seeking to both understand and apply a term like occupational transition, it will be important to not preclude the individual human stories, both told and untold, that will enable a more complete and compassionate understanding of occupational transitions for both researchers and clinicians.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Occupational Therapy, The University of Western Ontario, Elborn College, 1201 Western Road, London, N6G 1H1, ON, Canada. jscornai@alumni.uwo.ca
authors.forename: Jennifer M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Scornaiencki
mesh_terms: D002322:Career Mobility; D002677:Chile; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D033262:Narration; D012649:Self Concept