Saturday, April 14, 2012

Celebrating Twenty-Eight

Awhile ago I was flipping through the archives of the blog I'd kept in China and stumbled upon an entry that I'd written to myself on one of my birthdays, listing out as many things I loved about myself as years I'd spent on this planet. If I remember correctly, I was probably in a blue mood when I wrote that post (as I am apt to be on my birthday), and the little "me celebration" was an attempt to cheer myself up. Self help-y as that sounds, it totally worked. So I thought, why does one need to wait for their birthday to celebration themselves? We all occupy an interior universe centered around ourselves anyways, and there's a lot in it that's pretty darn amazing.

Celebration of Myself: 28 Things (I Love) at Twenty-Eight (and a half)


*I love that you love running outdoors.
*I love that water is your favorite drink.
*I love that you wear so much orange.
*I love that, in response to the realization that you have a hard time letting go of the need to attain a certain "status" or "prestige," you bought yourself a self help book on bragging.
*I love your propensity to laugh at yourself, even in trying times.
*I love that you have friends from different walks of life.
*I love that you give yourself permission to lie in bed all weekend, if that's what you need ... and to do it multiple weekends over, if that's what you need.
*I love that you sometimes bring a roasted sweet potato, leftover roasted asparagus, almonds, and an orange for lunch.
*I love that you think that biking to Lake Merritt is one of the best ways to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon.
*I love that you find that audiobooks of your childhood favorites are just about the right speed.
*I love that you think gigantic plaid elbow bows are A-OK.
*I love that you are OK with spending 20 hours making sad gigantic plaid elbow bow shirtdress and not finishing it in time for winter's enid, and putting it away until next year.
*I love that, even as you are arguing with your mom that she + your dad should NOT eat around the mold that has grown on their cheese, there is a part of you that agrees with her and would do the same. Life is messy, never truly black and white, isn't it?
*I love that you walk barefoot in the grass.
*I love that your friends bond over things like baking desserts or rock climbing or leaning against the couch and catching up on life.
*I love that you are open to advice, open to growing yourself even when it means admitting that you are wrong.
*I love that you have not owned a car or a TV for all your adult life.
*I love that you sometimes mix half-and-half into the heady, Black Chinese teas they have at work, just because it's exactly what you want.
*I love that, instead of reading magazines, you watch films for fashion inspiration.
*I love that you're growing more assertive. I love that you're realizing that speaking up about your own needs doesn't have to be a zero sum game, but that you can find ways to make things win-win for everyone involved, even if you take that mindset into a couple too many scenarios and your friends laugh over it. That's OK, cuz other times they come running to you to help them smooth over situations. And you're happy to help, if you can.
*I love that you like scrubbing toilets and cleaning sinks, especially if you can do it for your mom and save her some housework.
*I love that your singing is very bad, to the point where you purposefully go off key to induce laughter in the people around you.
*I love that you hold your ground with the COO and Medical Directors at work, even if it scares you. Or step up and take the messy and the uncomfortable tasks.
*I love that you occasionally watch Saturday morning cartoons and laugh like crazy and clap your hands and find it the most refreshing thing ever.
*I love that you sometimes have dreams that are narrated in such beautiful prose that in your dream, you wrestle with yourself over whether or not to wake yourself up adn write down the words flowing through your mind.
*I love that you have more hobbies than time to invest in them.
*I love that you booked a 2-week trip to China, solo, and that the thought of being alone for so long only slightly terrifies you.
*I love that you booked the trip anyways.

Darlings, I am headed out of here for not 2 but 3 weeks - visiting a friend in Korea, and then wandering to my heart's content in China. I don't plan to update while I'm away and will participate in MMM in a perfunctory sense (I am bringin a couple handmades, not many), but look forward to catching up when I get back!

11 comments:

Ally said...

Jessica,

Wishing you an inspiring and wonderful trip and very much looking forward to your impressions when you come back.

This is a lovely post, it made me think about the things I love about myself. Thank you.
xxx ally

Alessa said...

Your list made me smile. :) Thanks for that, and I wish you an absolutely lovely trip! Have fun in Korea and China!

Minnado said...

I love that you wrote this post.:)Anytime you want to bring roast sweet potato, asparagus and an orange to my house for lunch you would be very welcome. I smiled in recognition at the partents, cheese mould argument. My mum justifies her mouldy cheese eating with the phrase "It's just penicillen" I hope you have a wonderful trip, looking forward to the pictures. xx

gypsybiscuit said...

I love that you worked thru this little exercise and have inspired me to try the same. Mine will take a little longer as I am a few years older than you, but I think it worthwhile to give it a shot. Thank you. This was just what I needed today!

Becky said...

That exercise was a neat idea- I may have to try the same sometime. Enjoy your trip!

jessica said...

Thank you all for the well wishes and comments!

Ally - I'm glad it had that effect! Its something I fear we don't think about enough I'm afraid.

Debbie - I would love to bring a roast sweet potato, asparagus and orange to your house for lunch! And your mom's response made me laugh out loud. We better not let our parents speak to 1 another and swap ideas now ...

Gypsybiscuit and Becky - I hope you both work through this exercise at some point =). If you do and feel willing to share, I'd love to read it!

Sigrid said...

I love that you posted this. Have a fabulous refreshing, inspiring trip!

Andi said...

What an awesome post! Have a fantastic trip!

As a treat for when you return, I've been given a Liebster Blog Award and I would like to pass on the love to you, as you have the coolest sense of style and mad sewing/knitting skills. Checkout my blog for info on the awards :)

Andi xx

Anonymous said...

I love this idea, I think I will give it a try! have an amazing trip x

Jodi Wade said...

I love this post.

Jodi Wade said...

I love this post.