Wednesday, January 29, 2014

21 Things I Like About Myself

Once upon a time, I wanted to be a professional singer/actress. That is, until I went to college, and learned a whole bunch about myself, including how terrible I am at/how much I HATE marketing myself.  I can’t *stand* all the hand-shaking and mingling and schmultzing it takes to make it in the business, and I have NEVER been good at walking up to someone important or even sending out an email alerting people to my cool-ness, or as Napoleon Dynamite would say “skills."



I’ve also never been great at receiving compliments.  And recently I’ve noticed how bad I am (and I mean BAD) at accepting other people’s praise.  Maybe because I think if I actually accept a compliment, it will go something like this:



So when I came across this blog post from one of my favorite blogs of all time (Avoiding Atrophy is where it’s AT) my heart just went “Eureka!! I’ve been feeling like this for YEARS!!” and I got really excited that I wasn’t the only one.



But then I got mad. Mad because this is actually a real problem in our culture today – especially among us women.  And we don’t really talk about it.  We think that accepting compliments is vain, or even rude.  We assume that if a woman is proud of her achievements and strengths, she is stuck up.



And that’s what Christy O’Shoney explains so well in the post that sparked this one.  Side note: I seriously love her and her blog.  So much so that I’m attempting to write this blog in true Avoiding
Atrophy style – complete with sparkling wit and gifs… and cats.



Ever since I stumbled upon her wedding do-over post and then found her adorable post about her having a super fun time with her super cute hubby I felt like if I knew her in real life we would be really good friends.  Maybe if I ever move to New York… But seriously – go follow her.
But I think the best part about her post was that she really hit the real heart of the problem – it’s not even so much that we’re afraid what other people think.  It’s what we think about OURSELVES.
 
So Christy set out to make a list of the things she likes about herself, and encouraged others to do the same.
 
And I thought – that's a great idea!

Recently my awesome friend Sarah challenged me to write a body love letter. She even sent me hers to encourage me.
 
But the truth is… I didn’t end up writing one – I have a tendency to avoid thinking about my body. But the idea has been on my mind ever since, and reading “10 Things I Like About Myself” really clinched it for me.

So this isn’t exactly a body love letter, but it’s similar.  And while Christy kept herself to 10 things (she could have done more – she really is that cool) I decided to just start a list and see how many I could come up with.  So here goes:

21 Things I Really Like About Me:

1. I have great hair. People tell me often. Especially my friend Elisa. It makes me happy.
2. I’m funny. I love making people laugh and have gotten pretty good at it in recent years. Especially when it's my friend Ana and I'm doing my Miranda Sings impression.



3. I love teaching.
4. I bake really great cookies. Chocolate chip is my specialty.
5. I’m a really good speller.
6. I have pretty feet. They’re small and dainty, and cute. And I like them.
7. I’m good at singing.
8. I memorize music quickly.
9. I can imitate just about anyone.  I’ve always been quite the mockingbird, and it has served me really well in my singing/theatre experiences.
10. I’m not-so-secretly great at dancing. Especially at weddings. Recently at a wedding reception the mother-of-the-bride said to me, “I love the way you move! You’ve really got it.” MADE. MY. DAY.


11. I’m good at including people.
12. I can laugh at myself.
13. I have pretty eyes. Big, brown, Disney Princess ones. Though not quite as big as hers:


14. I have good taste in television, movies, and music.


(Best. BMW episode. EVER.)
 
15. I’m good at helping people out of their comfort zones.  My silliness often encourages others to let go and let loose a bit.

 
16. I care about my family and friends deeply and do my best to love them fiercely.  When one of them gets hurt or goes through a hard time – I hurt with them.
17. I’m honest.  I’ve always been good at sharing my feelings with just about anyone - often times it’s necessary to me actually functioning as a human being (it’s an extrovert thing) - but recently I’ve felt the pull to be *really* honest.  Lose the mask.  Feel all the feelings – Even if it’s not “pretty.”



18. I’m good at striking up random conversations with random strangers in random places.  I made a woman I’ve never met before laugh in the cookware section of Kohl’s the other day.  I’m all about being silly to make a person’s day.


19. I laugh freely, and loudly. No shame.
20. I have a kick-butt Pinterest.  It’s pretty darn fabulous. Check it out.
21. I take a mean selfie.

 


Ha --- Just kidding. ;)

So… what about you?  Are you gonna make a list? :)

6 comments:

  1. this is great! maybe I'll do one too. :) (PS I love Boy Meets World!)

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    1. Thanks Lucy! You totally should! I highly encourage it! :) It was so much fun and helped my self-esteem. :) And clearly you have great taste in television as well. :D #boymeetsworldisthebest #qualitytv #theydontmakethemliketheyusedto

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  2. Sydney, this is seriously wonderful! So happy to see that this exercise was positive for you, and I am just so humbled by the sweet words you've said about me in this post. You're awesome, and girl, I'm lovin' the gifs!

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    1. Oh, thank you Christy! I'm so glad you think so! While writing this I thought to myself - if she reads this, she could find this totally creepy and stalkerish - so glad that's not the case! And it really was. Thank you for inspiring me to do it! :) And as far as the gifs - I think they'll be appearing in future posts - they're just so fun!

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    2. Hey Sydney! Just wanted to let you know I'll be hosting a linkup for this exact post on the blog today! I would love it if you posted yours.

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    3. Hi Christy! I saw your first announcement, but in the busy-ness of college I totally forgot -- I'm so excited you reminded me!! I'm on it! :)

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