I spent quite a bit of time in 2011 on personal and professional self development. I found a professional mentor at work. I completed my Toastmasters Competent Communicator certification and will be moving on to advanced certifications in 2012. I also actively work with a close group of trusted friends on my own personal development. But more on all of this in a future post.
For me, part of actively living life (both physically and mentally), is understanding who I am. Many years ago on a writer's site I was a part of, one of the assignments suggested was to write 100 things about myself. I found the exercise to be slightly daunting at first. I got to number 30 and thought, "There is no way I will get all the way to 100." But I did it.
There is something very cathartic in gathering things in your life together and looking at them all in one place. When we move and realize that all of our physical possessions fit in a (insert size) truck. When we're trying to make a hard decision, we're encouraged to make a pro and con list....and many times the decision we thought would be the one we make ends up not looking so good afterall. And looking at those 100 things about me on a page..... well, I figured out a whole bunch about me. Each individual item I have known about myself, but seeing them all grouped together and reading them as a list....well, it allowed me to look at ME differently.
I went back and reworked my list and share it with you below. I challenge you all to give this exercise a try. I promise you it will inspire you to do something: like yourself more, challenge yourself to learn more, do more, or to be more appreciative of where you are in your life.
100 Things About Me
1. I have never broken a bone.
2. I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in November 2000.
3. My favorite color is green, but I wear lots of pink lately.
4. I have bungee jumped twice in my life for a total of 3 jumps.
5. I have never sky dived and still not sure if I ever will. I seek the ‘tickle in my tummy’ sensation and am told that you don’t get that in skydiving.
6. I failed science in the 4th grade (the phases of the moon).
7. I love my job.
8. I make the best lasagna in the world.
9. I have been regularly told I look younger than my real age.
10. I was the only one who voted for Carter during my elementary school’s mock election.
11. I have been married twice.
12. I met my husband on Match.com.
13. I love having my collar bone touched.
14. I frequently change hair colors and let my hairdresser do pretty much what she wants.
15. I was first published at the age of 12.
16. I have been on TV.
17. I lied on TV about my age when I was five years old.
18. I was born on Friday the 13th and consider Fridays the 13ths my lucky days.
19. I am the oldest child of 4.
20. I have only 1 dimple.
21. I no longer have my gallbladder.
22. My eardrum ruptured in January of 2006—not a pleasant thing and now my left ear pops all the time.
23. My father is the smartest and most intelligent man I have ever known. I was devastated when he died in 1998.
24. All of the cats I have had in my life have been named after female singers- Enya, Sarah, Fiona, Dido.
25. There are 3 foods I don't like and wish I did: fish (not shellfish- love shrimp!), plain milk and eggs.
26. I absolutely hate peas because my mother served way too many of them when I was a child.
27. I have a bonafide fear of apple juice. My little sister drank WAY too much of it as a child and on family vacations, I feared I would wake in a pool of apple juice in the hotel bed. She sweat apple juice and burped apple juice.
28. I sleep with a fan on because I like the noise.
29. But I don't sleep very well—I sleep lightly.
30. There is nothing better than snooze sleeping.
31. I was raised Catholic but converted to Episcopal when I was a sophomore in college. And have recently returned to the Catholic Church. The issue was me; not the church.
32. I don't remember the last time I went to a church service.
33. I was a true Duranie when I was a teenager. I am still convinced John Taylor looked at me when I saw Duran Duran play at Nassau Coliseum in the 80’s.
34. I was a Donnie Osmond fan in my adolescence and even was a member of his fan club (okay, I had a pair of purple socks with his picture on it!)
35. I, too, turn down the music in the car when I am looking for something/a place.
36. I love Chinese food.
37. Shel Silverstein shaped much of my literary childhood.
38. Dr. Seuss has influenced me much more in my adult life than he did in my childhood.
39. My mother actually made me green eggs and ham to prove the point (this was during the time I actually liked eggs).
40. My favorite after school snack was apples and peanut butter.
41. I can speak and write Spanish pretty well.
42. I was a volunteer safer sex educator for 13 years.
43. My lucky number is 13.
44. I lost my virginity (age 15) on the same day the space shuttle Challenger crashed- January 28, 1986. So- in my life, there were two major catastrophes that day.
45. I am a huge trivia buff and I am fascinated by words/language.
46. When I read The Secret History, by Donna Tartt, I had my first experience with a book where I wanted to read it because it was so good but paced myself because I did not want it to end.
47. The Kiss by Gustav Klimt and Pygmalion and Galatea by Jerome are my two favorite paintings.
48. I still remember the quadratic formula.
49. I excelled in English and Math in high school.
50. I played soccer for over 7 years.
51. Most of my long term relationships have been with Gemini men.
52. My astrological sign is Aquarius with a Capricorn rising. I am the epitome of an Aquarian.
53. My Myer-Briggs personality type is ENFP. Google it and you won't have to read the rest of this list in order to get to know about me.
54. I changed my undergraduate major 5 times- Anthropology. Sociology, Secondary Education, Creative Writing, English Literature.
55. I want to be the most degreed person in my family and in order to do that, I would have to get my doctorate.
56. I long to go back to school and get my Masters in English and my thesis will be titled- Women as Vehicles of Sin in the Works of Nathanial Hawthorne.
57. My favorite non-religious based Christmas song is Carole of the Bells.
58. My favorite religious one is O Holy Night.
59. My best facial feature is my smile.
60. My best feature is my personality.
61. I am intolerant of intolerant people.
62. I am against abortion but pro-choice (figure that one out!).
63. I have worked on two political campaigns in my life.
64. I gave up on majoring in creative writing when I realized that I did not want my livelihood to depend on such an intimate, inconsistent, creative and sometime random process.
65. I played the flute (horribly, I might add) in elementary school.
66. I can't sing well.
67. I can't draw well.
68. I learned how to crochet in my late twenties and love it.
69. But the first blanket I crocheted was not pretty.
70. My first childhood memory is giving the sign of the cross on my little brother's head when he was baptized (I would have been 2 and a half).
71. I am like to think that very liberal and open minded.
72. I love the smell and the roar of the ocean.
73. Abraham Lincoln is one of my favorite presidents.
74. The first concert I went to was U2, Under a Blood Red Sky Tour. The best concert I went to was Cowboy Mouth.
75. I think Eleanor Roosevelt is one pretty cool and inspiring woman.
76. I will only eat strawberry preserves on my PB&Js (does that still mean they are PB&Js? Or does that make them PB&Ps?).
77. I remember the phone number at my childhood home- 473-7264 (wonder who has it now?)
78. I love to eat raw green beans.
79. I love to cook. I love the process of learning about food and the cooking process to make myself a better cook.
80. Mark Bittman, New York Times columnist, inspires me to be a better cook.
81. I prefer butterscotch and caramel to chocolate.
82. I have a total of 13 pierced holes in my ears and am not pierced anywhere else.
83. I have 3 tattoos that I got in my thirties.
84. Slugs freak me out but I don't mind eating escargot.
85. I love the Christmas special, Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer by Arthur Rankin Jr. I have a collection of the characters and other collectibles.
86. I have tried haggis and not sure if I ever will try it again.
87. I love hummus and would have never tried it if I knew what it was made of beforehand.
88. British Columbia is the most beautiful and breathtaking place I have ever seen.
89. I don't really have any regrets but I am sure bummed that I did not make my first trip to Vegas long before my thirties.
90. I think Mark Twain is wonderfully and profoundly sarcastically hilarious.
91. I could write my full name before I started kindergarten and I was also reading.
92. I tried, but never was good at coloring in the lines.
93. I was tested for the gifted and talented program at school when I was in the 3rd grade (and did not make it in).
94. I learned the difference between being intelligent and being gifted and talented in the 3rd grade.
95. The first (and only) time I slow skated (as opposed to slow dance) was with Chris S. to the song "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" by Chicago.
96. The song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" annoys me.
97. The first book I ever read was Ann Likes Red.
98. I'm not a big fan of Valentine's Day since it is the reason I usually can't get reservations for birthday dinner (February 13th).
99. I have never been to Hawaii nor do I seem to have a burning desire to go.
100. One of my favorite quotes is the following:
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." ~Maya Angelou
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." ~Maya Angelou
What a wonderful exercise! Yes, we all should do it. But let me tell you dear niece, the one thing that stood out from your list; the most amazing and finest characteristic you possess. You have made all your experiences positive. Events that made you better; even the bad ones.Like you hate peas but not your mother for serving them. Not once did you point a finger at anyone else. To be better and not bitter is a Great achievement. Finding out who we are can be near impossible but you have come so close. You should feel very comfortable. Love you
ReplyDeleteThanks for such a wonderful post/comment! I appreciate the compliment! Love you too!
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