Day 1: Introduction, Recent Picture of Myself, and 15 Facts
It's a beautiful rainy day! Usually rain makes me chipper and feel like dancing. Today, for some reason, it's put me in a kind of funk. Nightmarish traffic didn't help that at all. But I'm home and about to make a delicious sandwich, so that helps! On to the challenge...
Hi, I'm Laura.
Not so good at introductions.
Mostly because I always feel there is way too much to me to fit in a few sentences, and at the same time not enough to really fill one. But I suppose the 15 facts will help introduce me, as will the other 29 days left to go.
In short, I am a Christian girl from Phoenix with two great parents and one little sister and a heart full of friends. I left a corner of my soul in Germany and can't wait to go back to visit it, though I doubt I shall ever reclaim it. And if I write any more here, I doubt I'll be able to come up with 15 facts, so moving on!
Voilà! C'est moi. And the vanity shows through in the fact that I couldn't pick and had to post two. :) These are from my most recent photoshoot with the photographer who pays me to model for him every so often.
So, 15 facts:
1. I have pretty much the most fantastic job. I teach piano and voice lessons to 30-40 students a week. My youngest is 3, my oldest are in their 50s. I work for great people and with cool people, and I love all my piano babies.
2. I'm house-hunting. Like, mortgage and all. That makes me feel scarily adult, and terrifyingly unprepared for life as a grown-up. But at the same time, so excited I wear holes in my socks with dancing.
3. I am, in most cases, over attentive to word choice. The English language is so rich (although lacking in MANY areas - like sorry. Sorry is used for both apology and sympathy, which usually results in people I am attempting to be sympathetic to asking me not to apologize, but I am limited by the inadequate words, "I'm sorry." But I digress...) where was I? Ah yes. The English language is so rich that we have no excuse to limit ourselves to so few words. I think long and hard about how to convey exactly the right nuances, and I delight in people who do the same.
4. I have a library. It is currently in storage, which is terribly depressing. It also is dangerous, as not having access to re-reading material, I have largely been forced to expanding my collection via Bookmans. I did miss VNSA this year, due to financial constraints, but someday there will be a room in my house filled with nothing but shelves full of wonder and strange worlds and education.
5. Boys are severely distracting to me.
6. I teach pre-school (read: 2-6 yr olds) Sunday School and absolutely adore it. When I started, we had like 0-3 kids a day, which was new and different, but fun. Yesterday I think we hit 15, which is delightful. They are so innocent and joyful and cuddly. And they're starting to know my name, which just makes my heart melt.
7. I have this odd quirk. I always wish I could go out and do more fun things with people and make more friends. But often times, when the chance presents itself, I come up with about fifty reasons not to go (homework, sleep, too much gas, I feel like being lazy, don't wanna take a shower, I'm a bum, I don't know people, I'm awkward, etc). So I won't go, and then I wish I had. So I've been working on forcing my butt to go, and it does good things. I love new friends.
8. I moved to Germany when I was 18. Most of you who read this (I can say that cause I'm fairly certain there's like 2 of you) know this already. If you don't, go check out some of my stories.
9. I love pictures. I love people to look at my pictures and talk to me about them. That's probably why I have (let me count) 74 photo albums on facebook, and get an irrational amount of excitement when people leave relevant comments longer than three words on them.
10. Ever heard of Gary Chapman's love languages? Well, mine are "Physical Touch" and "Words of Affirmation," in that order. Touch is so integral to me, I'm not sure why. I can remember the first time just about anyone touches me in some way (excluding those who've known me longer than memory). I always notice physical contact, always. As for words, whatever you say to me sticks. This probably relates back to fact #3. It's like my brain writes down exactly what you say, and I go back and re-read constantly. So be careful, little mouth, what you say...
11. I'm an optimist. I like smiling and laughing my odd, squeaky laugh. I like hoping for the best. I love being joyful in all situations. Picking out the silver lining in anything is my personal game.
12. I am intentionally paradoxical. I am drawn to people who cannot be put in boxes, and so I strive to make myself impossible to imprison within a definition. Probably why this particular challenge is so - well, challenging. I essay to know a little bit of everything and to appear adept at whatever I find myself in.
13. I often struggle with ugly duckling syndrome.
14. I am fascinated by military life. I'm sure this largely comes from living at the Festaburg, but it has continued. Everything about it draws me in, even though I've seen many of the worst sides of it.
15. I have a host of minor manifestations of mild OCD. Unfortunately, they seem to have been exacerbated since coming home from Germany, not quite sure why. It's not usually anything anyone would notice, as I generally keep it in my head. What can I say, I'm an odd duck.
Hi, I'm Laura.
Not so good at introductions.
Mostly because I always feel there is way too much to me to fit in a few sentences, and at the same time not enough to really fill one. But I suppose the 15 facts will help introduce me, as will the other 29 days left to go.
In short, I am a Christian girl from Phoenix with two great parents and one little sister and a heart full of friends. I left a corner of my soul in Germany and can't wait to go back to visit it, though I doubt I shall ever reclaim it. And if I write any more here, I doubt I'll be able to come up with 15 facts, so moving on!
Voilà! C'est moi. And the vanity shows through in the fact that I couldn't pick and had to post two. :) These are from my most recent photoshoot with the photographer who pays me to model for him every so often.
So, 15 facts:
1. I have pretty much the most fantastic job. I teach piano and voice lessons to 30-40 students a week. My youngest is 3, my oldest are in their 50s. I work for great people and with cool people, and I love all my piano babies.
2. I'm house-hunting. Like, mortgage and all. That makes me feel scarily adult, and terrifyingly unprepared for life as a grown-up. But at the same time, so excited I wear holes in my socks with dancing.
3. I am, in most cases, over attentive to word choice. The English language is so rich (although lacking in MANY areas - like sorry. Sorry is used for both apology and sympathy, which usually results in people I am attempting to be sympathetic to asking me not to apologize, but I am limited by the inadequate words, "I'm sorry." But I digress...) where was I? Ah yes. The English language is so rich that we have no excuse to limit ourselves to so few words. I think long and hard about how to convey exactly the right nuances, and I delight in people who do the same.
4. I have a library. It is currently in storage, which is terribly depressing. It also is dangerous, as not having access to re-reading material, I have largely been forced to expanding my collection via Bookmans. I did miss VNSA this year, due to financial constraints, but someday there will be a room in my house filled with nothing but shelves full of wonder and strange worlds and education.
5. Boys are severely distracting to me.
6. I teach pre-school (read: 2-6 yr olds) Sunday School and absolutely adore it. When I started, we had like 0-3 kids a day, which was new and different, but fun. Yesterday I think we hit 15, which is delightful. They are so innocent and joyful and cuddly. And they're starting to know my name, which just makes my heart melt.
7. I have this odd quirk. I always wish I could go out and do more fun things with people and make more friends. But often times, when the chance presents itself, I come up with about fifty reasons not to go (homework, sleep, too much gas, I feel like being lazy, don't wanna take a shower, I'm a bum, I don't know people, I'm awkward, etc). So I won't go, and then I wish I had. So I've been working on forcing my butt to go, and it does good things. I love new friends.
8. I moved to Germany when I was 18. Most of you who read this (I can say that cause I'm fairly certain there's like 2 of you) know this already. If you don't, go check out some of my stories.
9. I love pictures. I love people to look at my pictures and talk to me about them. That's probably why I have (let me count) 74 photo albums on facebook, and get an irrational amount of excitement when people leave relevant comments longer than three words on them.
10. Ever heard of Gary Chapman's love languages? Well, mine are "Physical Touch" and "Words of Affirmation," in that order. Touch is so integral to me, I'm not sure why. I can remember the first time just about anyone touches me in some way (excluding those who've known me longer than memory). I always notice physical contact, always. As for words, whatever you say to me sticks. This probably relates back to fact #3. It's like my brain writes down exactly what you say, and I go back and re-read constantly. So be careful, little mouth, what you say...
11. I'm an optimist. I like smiling and laughing my odd, squeaky laugh. I like hoping for the best. I love being joyful in all situations. Picking out the silver lining in anything is my personal game.
12. I am intentionally paradoxical. I am drawn to people who cannot be put in boxes, and so I strive to make myself impossible to imprison within a definition. Probably why this particular challenge is so - well, challenging. I essay to know a little bit of everything and to appear adept at whatever I find myself in.
13. I often struggle with ugly duckling syndrome.
14. I am fascinated by military life. I'm sure this largely comes from living at the Festaburg, but it has continued. Everything about it draws me in, even though I've seen many of the worst sides of it.
15. I have a host of minor manifestations of mild OCD. Unfortunately, they seem to have been exacerbated since coming home from Germany, not quite sure why. It's not usually anything anyone would notice, as I generally keep it in my head. What can I say, I'm an odd duck.
i totally have the same problem where i make up excuses about not hanging out with friends! and i am fascinated with military life, my boyfriend is becoming a marine officer so i'm trying to learn all about it. love your blog! <3
ReplyDeleteI relate to almost all of this!
ReplyDeleteEspecially the "I'm sorry" conundrum. That frustrates me so much!
I enjoyed this... thanks for sharing... I don't write very well so every time I have tried blogging it is a flop
ReplyDeleteObviously more than 2 of us are reading this :) The only part of the "ugly duckling" that I see in you is the graceful swan, beautiful in every way :)
ReplyDeleteKristen - if you look back through both this blog and the Germany one, you'll see why I imagined there were but two souls out there reading my words. This is much more encouraging!
ReplyDelete