Tagged!

I've been tagged! And so...

Ten things I like about myself:

1. People tell me things. I'm not sure why, but I tend to get life stories from friends and strangers alike. It happens all the time. I'll be standing in line somewhere, when all of a sudden the cashier/person behind me and I are chatting like we've been best friends for our entire lives. Perhaps it's because...

2. I'm a good listener. I really enjoy hearing what people have to say. I think they can tell.

3. I am not a gossip. I've gotten this compliment three times over the last two weeks. I try really hard to not repeat things I hear, and this kind of feedback makes me think I'm doing a good job.

4. I am not shy! I just discovered this. I'd spent most of my adult life thinking I WAS shy, despite being told otherwise by several people whose opinions I trust. After spending a day on campus two weeks ago wherein I was pounced upon and hugged by two strangers, made three new friends, and gave my phone number to some girl named Jennifer who wanted to talk about nursing school, I realized I was kidding myself. So - I'm not shy. And I like it.

5. I'm really intuitive. I can usually tell right away whether I'm going to be good friends with someone. This gift manifests itself further through the ability to "know," somehow, when a situation is serious and what the people I'm close to are feeling despite their attempts to hide it. It's also helped keep people I love safe...more than once. Yes, there are stories here. Ask if you're interested. I'll tell you, because, well...I'm not shy.

6. I am strong. No, silly, I don't mean I routinely bench my body weight. (Although I did, this morning. Before breakfast. With one hand. Just kidding.) I've been realizing recently how much I've gone through to get to where I am. And I've come through relatively unscathed, with a better understanding of life and love and all that is good and true. And, well, I think that rocks.

7. I am starting to be comfortable in my own skin. I've really started to love myself lately. Over the last several months I've realized that often, I'm too willing to sacrifice my own happiness for the happiness of others. So I've stopped pouring myself into relationships that don't give back what I put in, and focused on the ones that are fulfilling for the other person involved...and for me. It feels great.

8. I'm not afraid to apologize. Really. When I screw up, I'll admit it.

9. I've kept a journal since the beginning of college. I really like being able to look back on the person I was, and see how far I've come. It also helps me realize that life is, truly, cyclical.

10. I'm full of random facts and quotations. It comes in handy in moments of awkward silence. Did you know a giraffe has a tongue that's fourteen inches long and sticky? (That's one of my favorites.) "We're our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves." Tom Robbins. Another favorite.

If you've read this far...you're tagged. (Lurkers, this includes you.)