I like that I'm weird.

When I moved to Washington on my own, I had a motto. You might even call it a Mantra, were you so boldly inclined. It was, simply: Do Hard Things.

You may recognize that as a direct quote from this man:


And I used that Mantra until it began to curl at its worn out edges. Any time I had a decision to make - and there were many life-altering decisions I was making during this time - I would remember: Do Hard Things. And I would choose to be fearless.

It's amazing how many times a decision becomes easy when you take fear out of the equation, and I blame a lot of truly awesome experiences and adventures on this method of operation. 

Then I became We and we moved back to Utah. And, well, I think I lost that saying somewhere in Idaho. Along with my favorite white T-shirt.

I'm taking it back as my personal Mantra. You can have it, too, if you like. There's plenty of it to go around.

And now, in the spirit of doing hard things, I give you:
THREE THINGS THAT STEPPER LOVES ABOUT HERSELF. 

I've been feeling down on myself, lately, and so trying to think of three things that I would celebrate about myself proves difficult - and therapeutic. Because hey! I'm not so bad, after all!

ONE
I have always been a 'comes-with-own-drumbeat' kind of gal. I've had many people - friends and enemies alike - flat out tell me I'm odd. (I don't have any enemies. On purpose.) In my dating years, I would go from being mysterious to being intriguing to being frustrating because I just didn't fit the standard way of thinking these boys were used to in their dames. For being a shy goodie-goodie, I was extremely unpredictable. I love this about me. I like that I'm weird. I think it makes me more interesting.

TWO
I love being a red-head. I love playing with the shades - but I love that my natural color is this intense auburn that I get many a compliment on. I love that when I was an infant, someone asked my mom in the grocery store if she dyed my hair, because it was such a brilliant red (it has tamed to auburn). I love that charming old men used to fall in love with my hair and my freckles when I waited their tables during my serving years. They were such flirts! And I love that people automatically assume I'm fiery and hot-tempered just because of my locks. I personally think that my hair - especially the fact that it's red - is my very best feature.

THREE
I love being creative. I like creating stuff - and then I like showing the stuff that I create to people and having them like it. This probably makes me narcissistic - but I love the energy I get from the process. And even when I got stuck with lame teammates for group projects in school, and ended up doing ALL THE WORK because my lame teammates insisted that I was the creative one, I still liked what I came up with, and liked that my skills earned my lame teammates an A. Grade school, high school, university all. I've saved a few ward functions and friends parties with some creative last-minute hostessing, too. I like that I can count on my creativity to come through for me.

Phew! It was a lot harder to come up with three things than it should have been. I invite you to the challenge! What are three things that you love about yourself? No disclaimers. No apologies. Straight up love. Come on - do hard things!

6 comments:

Jeff and Ari said...

You are inspiring. That could be your fourth thing!! That's another thing I love about you .. in addition to your three.

And I'm jealous of your hair color. Just sayin'.

Charms said...

I have always loved your authenticity. It's a rare quality to find. :) You know who you are.

Grandpa Rusty said...

And I love your inherent kindness - you would never intentionally do anything to hurt anyone else.

And the three you noted are oh-so-true.

Stepper the Mighty said...

Ari, Charms and Grandpa Rusty - thank you! I am loving the love.

But I want to know three things you love about YOURSELVES. Though I could make a long list myself of things I love about all three of you.

Unknown said...

What a great post idea -- I love how the things you love about yourself are quirky :)

Windy Dawn said...

I re-read this post tonight and loved it just as much as the first read. Thanks for sharing this.