I have been nominated for the Honest Scrapper blogger award by my dear and wonderful friend: Abby. It took me awhile to pen all of my scattered thoughts, but here is the fruition of much thought. The goal of this blog is to tell you: "10 honest things about me that you possibly do not know."I hopelessly tried to think of some things that not everybody knows about me...It was a fun but long process. I am a very wordy writer, bear with me...1. I have always been fearful of leaving people out or of losing friends. I know these two things are not the same thing but I thought they should both be stated together. I don’t know what it is about leaving people out, but I can’t stand it. I kick myself every time it happens and could have been avoided. I even feel awkward about telling people activities I’ve done with other people, even if I was invited and it would have been inappropriate for me to invite them. Maybe it’s because I was brought up in a very large family, and it was easy to get left out of certain activities. At any party or social function I go to, I can’t stand watching the wallflower sit by themselves in the corner, I have to go over there and talk to them and at least try to get them involved. I try my best to not leave out friends in certain situations. I’m afraid of losing friends because for one: My friends mean the world to me and, secondly: I can’t bare the thought of emotionally letting go of someone who I care so deeply for, that’s why death is hard for me to deal with; thirdly: I have this weird sense of abandonment. I’ve had this fear ever since I was a child. I guess it’s more a fear of being alone…probably because you can’t really ever be alone while being raised with two sisters and four brothers.
2. I have always over-committed myself to too many activities. In high school, I played 5 different sports including: volleyball, basketball, swimming and diving, cross-country, and track and field. I was part of the National Honors Society, Secretary of S.A.D.D, a member of Key Club, a heavily enthused and involved artist, a straight A student, a mentor/leader in J.H.(Junior High) Impact, went on mission trips, and competed in writing, art, and math competitions. In college, I took being over-committed to a new, steadfast level. I played college volleyball, coached club volleyball, was the Treasurer of Student Government, volunteered for the Special Olympics and Habitat for Humanity, was the Secretary of the Student Education Association, was the only student on the academic committee at DBU, was a Freshman Welcome Leader(SWAT), an officer in Alpha Sigma Omega, was a part of the honor’s society: Alpha Chi, was a Community Assistant(RA), a YoungLife leader, was a part of the International Student Ministry… I could keep going, yet I still had a good social life. I wish I hadn’t stretched myself so thin, but I met so many amazing people through it and established unforgettable memories! This is me in college, in an airport, during a mission trip.
3. I hate it when people want to talk ONLY about themselves ALL the time, I mean EVERY time you talk to them. I’m not talking about something that occurs occasionally, but constantly. They have no interest in what you have to say or what is going on in your life. They just HAVE to air their own opinions no matter what and sometimes even when you weren’t even talking to them. A true friendship goes both ways and is not one sided. I’ve had to pray for patience with this in the workplace.
4. I’m STILL a cookie or sweet monster… ever since I was a very small child, I would quietly creep into the kitchen to steal cookies or fudge my mom had just made. I became very talented at hiding cookies and filching sweets! It was almost a game for me! Even now, I sneak into the kitchen stealthily, now, to take cookies out of the cabinet so that Grant doesn’t see me. However, I can’t tell you how many times he has caught me red handed or with chocolate on my face! I love me some chocolate chip cookies or really anything sweet!
5. I’ve always wanted to do something amazing in the athletic world, hence why I played college sports and played as many sports as possible in high school. When I was 9 years old, I religiously watched women’s gymnastics in vain hopes of becoming a gymnastics star. I was a fanatical gymnast and was deeply committed to long hours of competitive gymnastics until I wanted to live a “normal” life and stopped gymnastics altogether. I then delved into other sports. While in high school, I dreamed of competing in a decathlon: which included my track and field strengths: high jump, hurdles, long jump… I was even recruited to compete on the college level in decathlons but decided to do volleyball instead. I also dreamed of becoming a competitive pole-vaulter. In high school, pole-vaulting for girls had just become a real event for girls and I quickly became an avid pole-vaulter. I foolishly once dreamed of becoming a professional boxer, considering the fact that I always enjoyed fist fighting with my brothers and my now husband. This is a picture of my favorite female athlete: Babe Didrickson Zaharias. She was amazing and inspirational!
6. I don’t like the fact that people who are considered beautiful get preferential treatment compared to those people who appear to the world as dismantled and hideous and get treated as less of people. I think some of the most gorgeous people in this world are people who have no worldly beauty or are mentally handicapped. I have seen the most gorgeous people in the world competing in the Special Olympics. The beauty of this world is only temporary and does not last. I have even felt uncomfortable when that kind of preferential treatment has been given to me and my friends. I don’t think it’s fair or right. Just because somebody is pretty on the external doesn’t mean that they are beautiful on the inside, which is what truly matters more!
7. I don’t have comebacks… or at least any good ones! When Grant and I play fight, my best comeback is “Be Quiet” or “Shut-up!” That’s all I’ve got! It’s pretty ridiculous! It was the same when I was growing up, I could never really put somebody down verbally, so I guess I used my fists instead!
8. This one is quite silly, I’m pre-warning you! As I grew up, I always hated my curves. I grew fast. I was lanky in junior high but somehow had womanly, child-bearing hips. I hated it because I could never get rid of them, even if I wanted to! And I couldn’t find clothes that fit well because while the rest of my body was very thin, I had very curvy hips. Nothing fit quite right! I’m starting to finally grow into them and see them as beautiful! 
9. I have an extremely wild imagination… almost as good as Peter Pan! I imagine things, still that most adults have a hard time seeing. Which is probably why I love teaching kindergarten and “Finding Neverland” is one of my all-time favorite movies! Kindergartener’s imaginations are still fresh, innocent, and kicking! I hope I don’t ever lose that. Even though it is really easy to lose your child-like imagination in a world full of negativity, deadlines, and harsh realities.
10. I’ve never been considered “normal” and have never been able to just fit in one group which is probably why my friends are very diverse and come from a strange variety of different backgrounds. In college, I hung out with the jocks, the goodie-two shoes, the popular crowd, and the artsy crowd. I have always felt that besides my family and some close friends that I have been and am usually misunderstood. Many people in my life have called me “weird” but I like to take that as a compliment and consider myself unique.
I now nominate Jillian and Alicia to do this honest blog!
