the most uncomfortable post i've written

I’ve never been one to toot my own horn or pat myself on the back. In fact, when praised or complimented, I tend to blush and get shy and try to draw the attention away from myself. So when Madame Meow from the fabulous blog A Daily Dose of Zen Sarcasm tagged me on this Ten Things I Like About Myself meme, I couldn’t do it right away. I had to think about it…A LOT. Seriously though, what do I like about myself? And why does thinking about this make me uncomfortable?

I’ve never been one to back away from a challenge (however, the challenges usually involve drinking and shots). So here is my list. And I want to thank Madame Meow for forcing me to think about this topic and showing me that it’s ok to toot my own horn every once in a while.

Ten Things I Like About Myself:

1. My brain. I love that I can back up any opinion I have with thoughts I actually came up with (instead of thoughts I just read somewhere…Elizabeth Hasselbeck, I’m looking at you). Also, the brain got me a full-tuition scholarship to the finest educational institution on the West Coast (that’s USC for those of you who don’t follow the blog on the regular). For that, Brain, I will always be grateful.

2. My boobs. They’re round, real, and not lopsided. In fact, I was very sad when I found out that Jesse is not a boob man. This is such a waste of low-cut shirts and sexy bras. At least, I like my boobs (therefore, the low-cut shirts are not a total waste). Jesse actually prefers my booty, which will NOT be on this list.

3. My eyes. They are green usually, but tend to change tones depending on what color I’m wearing. I like to make them stand out which means frequent trips to get my eye brows done. Also, I tend not to wear glasses as often as I should because the glasses don’t do anything for the eyes (well, besides the whole fixing the astigmatisms and helping me see better part). Even if the frames are designer and trendy.

4. My hair. And I better like my hair because it is rather high maintenance. This was not always the case. I used to have the plain-Jane-est hair in high school. Now it’s got color and style. And with the color and style comes quite a great deal of maintenance (and expensive products). Good thing I love my stylist. I see him quite a bit.

5. My passion. There are some issues that truly bring out the best in me—the best person that I can be. Whether that’s through financially supporting a cause or helping to spread awareness, I am nothing without my passion. And if you know me, you know that I’ve gone to great lengths for those things that I am passionate about (and that includes leaving my family and Cali behind and moving here).

6. My capacity to love. An ex I kept at arms length once told me, “Once you decide to let go and really let yourself love someone, he is going to be the luckiest guy in the world.” I had no idea of the depths to which I could love someone before I met Jesse. I surprise myself every day with just how much I love Jesse. Every day.

7. My opinions. I have them and I’m not afraid to share them, even if they’re not popular. Also, I’m not afraid to argue them either. I’m always up for a debate.

8. My love of sports. As I meet more and more girls who are into sports (the key to this is that you must have attended a football school—like Florida, Ohio State, VT, USC, etc.), I realize that I am not as special as I once thought I was. However, my love of sports and associated sports knowledge extends beyond college football to baseball, college baseball, basketball, college basketball, and tennis. I really can’t get into golf, racing, and pro football though.

9. My culture. I love the fact that I speak fluent Spanish and most people don’t expect it because I don’t look like your stereotypical Mexican. Heck, I even surprised Jesse the night we met. I love how my peeps have special food and traditions (notice how I mentioned the food first) that set us apart from other cultures. I think it’s awesome that salsa is the #1 condiment (take that, Ketchup!). And I especially love that our food merits a whole grocery store aisle just for brown peeps like me (and those non-brown peeps that enjoy our food).

10. My sense of humor. I may not be funny (Cheesy? Silly? Sure) but I can definitely appreciate other people’s sense of humor, even if I’m the only one laughing (which happens quite a bit). Tongue-in-cheek? ROFL. Dry wittiness? HIGH-larious. Self-deprecating humor? LOL. If it’s meant to be funny, I will most likely laugh…unless I don’t get it.

The following peeps are getting tagged: Shell, Sunchaser, Beakerz, Jilian and anyone else who is feeling especially introspective today.