The master-post can be found here.
It's very easy to fall into the trap of self-criticism, and to assess yourself by perceived societal standards that are higher than any you hold others to, or that others hold for you. I know I'm very guilty of considering myself a failure, and I'm incapable of taking a compliment, instead always rebutting them by pointing out some flaw of myself for people to see as an alternative. (A recent example - "I really love your coat!" "Yeah, but I've lost a button"). It's a habit that I know drives Jon to distraction sometimes. If he were ever to eventually snap and murder me, it wouldn't be anything to do with the towels on the floor by the washing machine, it would be because he told me I looked nice and I listed all the reasons why I don't one too many times.
I wonder if part of this is cultural - the British are apparently known for being self-deprecating, and struggle to sell themselves.
So, in the spirit of self-belief and self-confidence, here are 10 things I like about myself:
1) My breasts are pretty awesome. In fact, I might go so far as to say they are magnificent even. There are some tops that when I wear them people are like "Hello Claire, and hello Claire's breasts." I spent all of high school wishing for something in the chestal region, and was delighted when I edged my way into a B-cup. Then came University and seemingly all of a sudden BAM! E-cup. And I love them. Yes, they may make choosing necklines difficult, too high and it's frumpy, too low and it's a bit alarming for all involved, but it's worth it. I can't talk about my breasts in real life very often, and I'm really quite proud of them.
2) I'm a good cook. I mean, yes, I do have a tendency to sometimes get bored and wander off to the detriment of more normal meals, but I can make an amazing Hungarian Goulasch, my chicken soup is delicious, and every time I make my chocolate brownies I have to increase the recipe because they get eaten so quickly.
3) I have a really good memory for seemingly obscure facts. This makes me seem very impressive in pub conversations, but unfortunately gives me no aid in pub quizzes because they never seem to ask questions relevant to my random facts. Jon compared me a bit to the characters in the film Space Cowboys, where they memorize the eye chart to fake their way through an eye test, because they can't read it. I know a lot of little things in a lot of subjects to give the impression I know a lot. That said, I also do have my 'specialist subjects' which I can bring up information from at any given moment. Like Greco-Roman mythology, the Harry Potter books and all the words to the poem Jabberwocky.
4) I am good at critical reading. Movies, books, tv shows, I love reading into them from different critical points of view and supporting them with evidence from the source. I've impressed people with the way I do it. In a discussion about whether Disney films were unfeminist, I provided this critical reading of The Little Mermaid:
"...You can argue Ariel’s voicelessness in a couple of ways – that men won’t fall in love with women who speak out, or that a woman’s personality will shine through despite everything else she faces. Although that first argument I suppose is weak because it is the strength of Ariel’s voice that grabs Eric’s attention in the first place, and the appropriation of that voice that distracts him, when it is put to the wrong use. Ariel’s voice is continually praised as being the most beautiful, the strongest and most unique, and allegorically speaking you can read that as because she is insistent on speaking for herself. Her voice and speech gives her power, which is why Ursula sees it as valuable and takes it from her, with the intention of making her powerless. But then Ariel proves that whilst she can be silenced, she is not totally devoid of power or agency, she just has to find other ways to utilise it, and her regaining her voice after learning these lessons makes her stronger than she was at the start, when she relied on her voice to make things happen rather than her actions too."
And someone messaged me afterwards to ask if I was a Professor or a researcher somewhere. That made me really happy, I look up to academics and researchers so for someone to read my just-for-fun analysis of the symbolism of voices in The Little Mermaid and thing "wow this person must do this for a living" was wonderful.
5) I'm enthusiastic. I like being involved in things, and have fun with them. My friend spent most of high school trying to get me to stop volunteering for things, but dammit I have a lot of fun when I volunteer, and I've got some great stories from it. It did work out less well for her when one of the times I volunteered us for something she got 800 gallons of water dropped on her, but it's a great story.
6) I don't quit easily. I stick with things, even if they are hard, until I either finish them or it becomes silly to keep going (I'm looking at you Synchronised Swimming lessons). I finished my teacher training even though I decided not to become a teacher - alongside a part time job and volunteering at a local Rainbows group (which I've been at for 5 or 6 years now), I've not been without a job since I was 15, and I've stuck with How I Met Your Mother right through to the bitter end so there better be a damn good payoff.
7) I make people laugh. I like to think that it's with me, not at me.
8) I enjoy the ridiculousness of life. I can find humour and pleasure in all sorts of bizarre quirks of life and humanity. That's why Jon proposed using a ring box shaped like a cowboy hat, because I saw them, loved how brazenly unconcerned they were with what the rest of the world thought with regards to good taste, and declared I wouldn't say yes if he proposed without one. I never thought he would find one, but when he did, and then had to order a dozen because you could only buy them in bulk, I felt like I could laugh for a week. Best story ever. (we now only have 11 because I killed one of them, they are not sturdy).
Whilst the show is awful awful awful, sometimes I think Max from 2 Broke Girls is my spirit animal in the delight she takes in just about everything weird she comes across. And also has magnificent breasts.
9) I am improving all the time with my art. I'll acknowledge it's not the best out there, but I'm always always making progress, and developing. I'm not stuck, I'm learning new skills and I'm so pleased. In the last year I feel like I've gone so far in my personal development and I'm really proud of myself.
January 2013
January 2014
Wow, it was really hard to think of 10 things, which is also a little bit sad. But guys, please join in! What are your 10 favourite things about YOU?
You can see all the posts other people have made here.
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