Five Things Lists to get to know me.

FIVE THINGS...

#5

...You Don't Know About Me:

1) i am bothered

when people who introduce me say I am from California. Even if I might say it sometimes (it's kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision as to what I'll say when people ask), I don't like the picture people get when they hear it.

2) i gave up singing

because one boy told me I was bad at it.

3) i've never

been on a date. I feel weird being 24 and still saying that, but...it's a truth I have to own. I've gone out plenty of times with guys, just the two of us (and on more than one occasion I've found out after the fact the boy called it a date), but I've never gone through the "will you have dinner with me?" first date kind of conversation and outing.

4) i fear being common.

So many people in my life are so...stellar. Everyone I know shines in some way, whether it's purposeful or not. I know people who have literally changed the world, altered the way a mass group lives; and people who reach stars and shoot for the moon with every second of their being. And I have a crushing fear that I'm just...background. That I'm not like them, that I'm the dullness in their life that just intensifies their shine. It terrifies me that I'll be just another person who takes up space in the world, a copy of a copy of a copy that no one will remember.

5) i went on a 4-day

road trip with 14 friends to Utah and Arizona (Zion National Park, Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, The Four Corners, Lake Powell, and a friend's farm in Utah) when I was 22 and it is honestly one of the happiest, most in-the-moment times of my entire life. I strive to reach that kind of peace, harmony and satisfaction again. And yes, it was chaotic and complicated and filled with drama, but it all faded to the background once we stood on those cliffs.

...I'm Knowledgeable About:

1) figure skating

When I was 5, I had a poster of Nancy Kerrigan on my wall (Tonya Harding is a bitch). It probably started when I was doing ballet at 4 years old, but I've loved the grace and beauty of figure skating for as long as I can remember. The slice of ice, the glistening and sparkling and flowing costumes, the movement and thrill of programs. I can tell you pretty much everything about the sport, figure skaters, the scoring, anything. (Though I will pause and think when I'm explaining the different types of jumps and all - but I'll get it in the end!)

2) french

I moved to Belgium when I was 4, and I started taking French classes when I started school at age 5. For almost as long as I've known the English language, I've know the French language. Of course since I don't use it every day it's not as strong as it could be, but you could set me down in France or any French-speaking country and I'd survive quite well. I read it as well as English and can understand it almost as well - the speaking I stumble on, but it comes back to me.

3) singing

Even though I stopped it (see previous listing of five), my elementary schools' music programs were phenomenal and I started singing in choirs when I was 12. I also lived with several singers and have singer friends, so I've learned a lot about the technique of it and how to properly control your voice. It's beautiful in a very scientific way as well.

4) computers/technology

My dad worked with computers and security in the military since before I was born, so I've been around them all my life. I started typing at 4 years old (I can consistently type 120+ WPM) and using computers or various technology (tablets, iPads, phones, etc) kind of comes naturally to me. Give me a gadget and an hour, I'll come back to you with instructions.

5) people

My close friends will probably laugh at this, but I'm a quiet person--I don't speak much. And when I do, it's to prompt whoever I'm speaking with. Between how much I listen and observe and all the journalism and writing training I've done in my life, I've honed intuition and reading people quite well.

...I Know Nothing About:

1) geography

I'm terrible at it. If I haven't been there or seen it on TV, I cannot tell you where it is, the capital of it, or what rivers surround it. Also, please don't ever ask me where a certain mountain/range is. I have absolutely no idea.

2) cars

Again, absolutely clueless. I barely remember the make and model of my own well-loved vehicle, there's no way I understand the mechanics of it.

3) statistics (the mathematical sense)

Probability and all that simply do not make sense to me. I've been forced through various lessons of it, but I still cannot grasp any of the concepts. It is seriously like looking at Japanese characters to me. This is also the reason I ended up in AP Calculus in high school: if you didn't take the AP track, you had to take Stats - so I powered through all the Honors Algebra, Honors Geometry, Honors Pre-Calc, Trig, and AP Calc just to avoid Stats.

4) make-up

If it's not eyeliner or mascara, I'm lost. I don't wear anything other than eye makeup (don't even own it). How does anyone make sense of powders and matte and liquid make up and bases and foundation and concealer and all that junk?!

5) filipino culture

I may be it on the outside, and on occasion I'll spit out a few Tagalog words since my parents used them in my childhood, but I have absolutely no sense of it otherwise. I'm American (though Europe/Military-raised)-born and know only what it is to be American. I have zero clue the traditions, beliefs, history, anything to do with the Philippines and its people.

...I Believe In:

1) angels

I can't explain this one. I just do.

2) power of positive thinking

Because positivity will eventually lead to believing and believing leads to working hard and earning it. And if it doesn't in the end, then see the next item.

3) all things happen for a reason

No matter how crappy or hard my life has gotten, I've also always gotten through with whatever sort of lesson I'm meant to learn. You go through the worst to recognize the best, and you are given the best as a reward for being who you are. Whatever happens is meant to.

4) my brother

All his life he's been the kid whose teachers say "he has so much potential, he just doesn't get there...yet."  And I take faith in that 'yet.' He's destined to be something great, and there's so much he has to offer the world. It's taking him awhile, but...he'll get there. I know he will.

5) the limitlessness of book and words

When you think about it, there are only a finite amount of letters/characters in the world--so in theory, there is actually a limit of how many words/sentences/syllables/sounds we can make and their literal meanings. But that's just so untrue, and anyone who has ever been moved by another person or book or song can attest to that. There's something so powerful and soul-reaching in just the right sequence of words with just the right tone or mood, it's impossible to deny the magic and potential they all possess.

 

This post was written for Mama Kat's Workshop.