15 Things You Don't Need to Know but I'll Share Anyways

I write a blog post about once in a blue moon, but 2019 has brought on a lot of personal changes for me, and one of these changes was challenging myself to be more open and vulnerable. Vulnerability is scary for me, because it opens the door for criticism and heartbreak. And I'm not gonna lie, there are times this year in which I have REALLY stepped out of my shell, and it ended in a manner that was exactly what I feared: criticism & heartbreak. However, there is power in truth. There is power in sharing the intimate parts of your mind with someone close to you. It's like saying, "Hey, I cherish you so much that I want you to know this piece of me—this little bit of weirdness, these mistakes I’ve made, or these thoughts I have when I’m about to go to sleep. & I'm willing to trust that you'll still love me afterwards.” Even though I believe this, it still isn't easy for me. Time and time again, I have pushed people out of my life because I was scared to be as honest as I needed to be. I want to be fully known and loved by those around me. But the first part of that statement...being fully known... that's where I've always stumbled. I’m writing this post to be something a little different than my usual surface-level social media snippets. My sister jokes that my Facebook looks like a Catfish Facebook, because I simply hop on once every few months and post a random photo with no caption, so if you were to look at my profile, it would just look like I stole a bunch of random pics from someone, HA. The following is simply a random collection facts about me; some weird, some basic, some personal. It’s not much, but I like the idea of putting a human behind all of the random photos & meaningless captions on my social media. So, here it goes:

~ I was allergic to milk until I was about 5, so I never have liked it. Because of that, I have never, ever eaten a bowl of cereal with milk!! I eat my cereal dry or sometimes with strawberries.

~ I have a weird, penny-sized scar on my forehead from an incident in my childhood in which my siblings and I were practicing throwing rocks as hard as we could. Needless to say, one of my sister’s rocks (thrown as a softball pitch, I might add) hit me right in the middle of the head. I forget the scar is there, but it’s visible in almost all of my pictures. I have had my head glued back together twice now. The second time was from a different incident.

~ I sometimes cry about things I shouldn’t cry about, but then don’t cry about things that I probably should cry about.

~ I strongly dislike spoons and avoid them, if possible. I think they build up too much saliva. I prefer to eat my ice cream with a fork.

~ My friend once told me, “You are so independent that it scares me”. I’m not afraid to take myself on a date to the movies or to dinner, and it’s rare that I ever ask for help doing anything...even if I really need/want it.

~ I am completely in love with marine biology and anything to do with the ocean. If you are close with me, you have probably heard me start more than one sentence with: “Once when I was at marine biology camp...”

~ My receiving love language is acts of service. I love love love when people do things for me without being told, because, as previously stated, I’m not good at asking for help (oops). My giving love language is gift giving, and I think that’s because I’m not good at being mushy. I could barely even get through the little love language quizzes because they either just make me laugh or want to vomit with how cheesy they are. However, I absolutely love to surprise people I love with something that shows I was thinking of them!

~ One of my absolute favorite things in the world is when people call me by name when speaking to me.

~ I will do anything to pop a good pimple. I always say that there should be a dating-like app where people who need their pimples popped meet people who would love to pop them. I would be all over that app. A few weeks ago I tried to get my little brother to video me popping a pimple so I could re-watch it. He said no.

~ My enneagram is a pretty even mix between 1 (the perfectionist) and 7 (the adventurer), which I think is an odd combination but explains so much haha.

~ I’m way too sensitive, and I’m aware of this, but that still doesn’t stop me haha. Two weeks ago the lady at the hair salon told me the blonde in my hair looked faded and I have thought about it every day since. Which, I might add, is ridiculous of me, because it is her job to tell me when it’s time to get my hair done again.

~ Yes, I am the girl who broke her hand taking the ACT.

~ I’m an introvert who forces herself to be an extrovert almost daily. This is because I was once describing myself as an introvert, and my friend stopped me and said, “No, you’re comfortable as an introvert. But you experience growth as an extrovert.” I hate this word, but in that moment, I was literally “shook”.

~ Tacos. All I need to say here.

~ I love: sunsets, freshly paved roads, baby laughter, being outdoors, untouched snow, painting, taking baths, fat cats, tea, laughing until I cry, when someone opens a door for me, serving others, ripe peaches, being respected, fuzzy blankets, trying somewhat dangerous things, the sound of an acoustic guitar, long drives, being comfortable enough to be weird with someone….a lot more but that’s all I can think of right now, & I’m tired.

If you’ve followed along, then wow, you’re a trooper! None of this matters all that much, but I hope me stepping out of my comfort zone to share these little bits of my personality will encourage others to show more of what makes them, them. It can be easy to lose yourself in this world overtaken my social media. There is too much pressure to present yourself as perfect…but I would rather people love me with my quirks & imperfections. You should, too :-)