Believe it or not...

Let me tell you something that might come as a shocker----I'm human!

I have been told that I'm not a morning person by my family almost every morning of my life. I lie to my dentist about how much I floss because I cannot deal with the pain of it. And I just hate flossing. I invest too much of myself into things too early but it can also be really hard to get me to committ to things. I find it so hard to get competitive in things other than sports (like grad school, for example) and I can get overwhelmed sort of easily. Although I have been an athlete my whole life, I struggle with coordination--the other day believe it or not, I fell off a treadmill while running. Trust me, I couldn't believe it either. I have a tendancy to think way too much about the little things and when I get tired you don't want to have to deal with me because there is potential for a melt-down.............So do you still like me?

I have noticed this lately, that this is sorta how I relate to people--I just throw down my weaknesses and contradictions. Obviously I'm not gonna tell you all of my worsts but I tend to just want to create a field of trust first thing when I meet a new friend, so I lay all my cards down first like I'm daring them to show me up. I like showing how human I am. Maybe it's to show my weaknesses before they have time to discover them and run away shreiking or maybe because in my hardest moments I have learned the most and I want them to understand that all so they don't have to learn it the hard way. I don't know. But to be honest, I don't really care about all your strengths, I mean I do, but they will show themselves naturally I think. I want to see your ugly side! HA - ever heard someone say that?? I have found that so many people just want to be okay with themselves and who they are that often times they put up this whole facade that things are perfect when they really are completly crumbling and are looking for a corner to fall apart in. They are so relieved when you just let them know that you are in fact just as human as they are, like it's a surprise or something. PUHHLEASE--As if they are the only one who has called up their parents in a complete crazed panic at 2 AM bawling about how their life is going down the drain because they didn't go to dental school only for their parents to remind them that they didn't want that in the first place. Been there, done that.....still like me??

I really like being human and I really like getting to know other humans, but that entails knowing two parts of them, strengths and weaknesses, and being friends regardless. So don't be afraid to show your weaknesses first to someone. You know, just let someone know how you fell off the treadmill the other day, but then got up, smiled and jumped right back for more.