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Birthday Egotism
Sep. 1st, 2007 05:23 pmEvery year I feel obliged to explain this post, because it's a little bit odd.
Some time ago -- four years, I think -- I was having a crappy birthday. Nothing big and dramatic; just the kind of day that makes one slouch angstily in a chair and think, "I'm twenty-three years old, and what do I have to show for it?"
This was a stupid question, and so I set out to prove that to myself. You see, I'm veryverygood at being self-critical. Not so good at patting myself on the back. Ergo, I made a post about the Awesomeness of Me: all my accomplishments, all the things I had learned, all the things I could do, everything I might be proud of in my life to date. I made myself do so publicly, because the point was to toot my own horn for once. And I didn't let myself put in any qualifications or disclaimers -- which was damn hard for me. Nothing but the positives, all in one place so I could go back and re-read it if I ever sank back into that Slough of Despond.
And this has become a tradition.
Mind you, this year's birthday has been fantabulous so far. Lunch with friends, then a road trip out to the Exotic Feline Rescue Center -- in five years of living here, I'd never managed to go. It's sunny and the perfect temperature (as far as I'm concerned), I had ice cream, I'm relaxed and happy. But this is tradition. So here is this year's update of Birthday Egotism: everything from the last year that I'm proud of.
So. I'm twenty-seven years old. What have I got to show for it?
( WARNING: Rampant Self-Aggrandizement Within )
It's been a quieter year than some, but a good one. And today is a lovely milestone marking the change from one year of my life to the next. If such things are omens, then this upcoming year will be lovely.
And full of other things to be proud of.
Some time ago -- four years, I think -- I was having a crappy birthday. Nothing big and dramatic; just the kind of day that makes one slouch angstily in a chair and think, "I'm twenty-three years old, and what do I have to show for it?"
This was a stupid question, and so I set out to prove that to myself. You see, I'm veryverygood at being self-critical. Not so good at patting myself on the back. Ergo, I made a post about the Awesomeness of Me: all my accomplishments, all the things I had learned, all the things I could do, everything I might be proud of in my life to date. I made myself do so publicly, because the point was to toot my own horn for once. And I didn't let myself put in any qualifications or disclaimers -- which was damn hard for me. Nothing but the positives, all in one place so I could go back and re-read it if I ever sank back into that Slough of Despond.
And this has become a tradition.
Mind you, this year's birthday has been fantabulous so far. Lunch with friends, then a road trip out to the Exotic Feline Rescue Center -- in five years of living here, I'd never managed to go. It's sunny and the perfect temperature (as far as I'm concerned), I had ice cream, I'm relaxed and happy. But this is tradition. So here is this year's update of Birthday Egotism: everything from the last year that I'm proud of.
So. I'm twenty-seven years old. What have I got to show for it?
( WARNING: Rampant Self-Aggrandizement Within )
It's been a quieter year than some, but a good one. And today is a lovely milestone marking the change from one year of my life to the next. If such things are omens, then this upcoming year will be lovely.
And full of other things to be proud of.
