Flat Coke & Flies participated in an interesting and self-esteem-boosting meme on her blog, and as I finished reading the last juicy word, I saw my name in the paragraph below. She’d tagged me to do the same meme! Okay, so here it is, 10 things I like about myself.

10.) I fit in small spaces. Yeah, I’ve griped about being short and not having the square footage for wider-spread distribution of fat; yeah, I’ve griped about not being able to buy clothes right off the racks. But hey, not being able to fit in most clothes saves me money, AND I’m one of the few people who can sit comfortably anywhere, no matter how small the car, how tight the seat, how negligible the legroom. This is how I sleep in the coach section of planes: I lower the food tray attached to the back of the seat in front of me, I lean forward, fold my arms over the tray, and sleep with my head on my arms, just like when we played “Heads-Up, 7Up” in gradeschool. The other day I walked into Mr. W’s house to find him putting away groceries he’d just gotten from Costco, and there was a produce cardboard box on the ground (as Costco does not use grocery bags). “Hey, that’s big enough to fit me!” I said as I climbed in, sat in there cross-legged and looked out at him, beaming. He was unable to resist dragging me around the floor for a few laps as I held on to the sides of the box shrieking, “WHEEEEEEEE!!!”

9.) I like my quirky sense of humor. The humor is sometimes high-brow and witty, but more often it’s just goofy. Sometimes I find someone who “gets” me and my humor, and the interaction is just back-breakingly belly-achingly funny…unless you’re the person we’re making fun of. Chances are, tho, if we’re making fun of you, you’re not one of those people who get it anyway.

8.) I love that I don’t fit the negative stereotype of today’s American girl. I’m financially independent, have assets, no credit card debt, don’t blow offensive wads of cash on name-brand shoes/purses/makeup/hair-extensions/manicures, don’t do catty sabotaging things to other women, did not get knocked up by a guy who doesn’t take me seriously, am not waiting around for Prince Charming to come around and “rescue” me by wiping my ass of my debts. And I’m college-educated, have never been drunk, high, nor ever smoked. You may THINK I’m boring, but I’ve partied with the best of you and *I* can say I remember doing it.

7.) I have a natural teacher in me. I like that I can share knowledge or perspectives and make it palatable to the recipient. People sense this and seek me out for tutoring (just did a session last Friday for a coworker), and often for advice. That teacher is able to get you from Point A (problem) to Point B (solution) in a way that’s easy to understand and is hopefully inspiring. Oh, people come to me with nutrition/workout questions, too. I’m very proud of my students, they have an extremely high success rate. College roommie Diana’s nickname for me when she seeks advice is “Psychic Cindy.”

6.) Kind of along with #7, I like that I can and have inspired goodness in people. Few things are more rewarding than when I get a phone call from an excited friend saying, “I took your advice and didn’t do that mean nasty thing I wanted to do, and instead I did this positive thing, and oh my gosh you were right! I’m so glad I didn’t go through with what I’d wanted to before I talked to you!” One of my proudest and favorite stories in this category has to do with Vanessa and an email response she almost sent to her father, but thought she’d send it to me first and ask “How would YOU respond?” To respect Vanessa’s privacy in that she may not want this story divulged, I’ll stop here. But it is a BEAUTIFUL story.

5.) I plan for the future, and for the rainy days. But I do so without depriving myself today. I may never have kids, but if I do, there’s a college fund being built that I started 10 years ago. BUT I still bought myself that Lexus for my happiness today. You also can’t say I don’t vacation well. Through all this, I still live comfortably and well within my means. (Altho my parents do this better than I can; I can’t figure out how they do it.)

4.) Sometimes, just sometimes, I have a spark of enlightenment and I learn like mad from life. I see the higher purpose for everything, and I try to spread that goodness around as I grow as much as possible. From the worst relationship ever, I learned how to survive and make myself happy. I strive to live calmer, with a broader perspective. I am hyper-conscious of my flaws and work to improve myself. I come up with great little sayings like, “Sometimes you have to add your own yellow.” Sometimes the day is dark, and you bring your own sunshine, you rewrite your own day, and in so doing, you just may change the world. This side of me is really hard to explain in words, it’s more of a state of mind than a physical thing I can describe.

3.) I’ve never actually failed at anything I’d set out to do. Ever. I don’t know why I deserve that kind of luck, but I am appreciative of everything it’s brought me. I’m proud that I set out for positive things, and that those are the things I’ve succeeded at. I think I’d regret it forever if one of my successes were in destroying someone’s career or something like that. (I know what you’re thinking, and no, I’m not gonna help you sabotage an annoying person in your life. But I will talk you out of WANTING to and make you happier in the process.)

2.) I have an affinity for surrounding myself with good people. Quality friends. People with character that I can trust and be proud to be around. I’d say I’m a good judge of character, but I think a lot of it came from learning the hard way, too. When I was younger, I had to do what I called “spring cleaning” of “friends,” when I found out that these people were not the kind of friend to me that I was to them. But what I am left with now is a collection of some of the most inspiring people who give out so much light, whom I constantly learn from, and they have shielded me in storms, pulled me out of wreckages, given their blood to make sure I survive. There are too many of you to name, and as I credit you for helping me find myself, I also credit me for finding you. =)

1.) I have a detailed memory. So detailed, that yesterday while having a sunset oceanside dinner with Mr. W (he had the lemon-caper swordfish), he mentioned that he didn’t use to like capers when he first had them, and I was actually able to recall THE first time I actually had capers. It was at Orange Hill Restaurant on a double-date with college roommie Diana and our then-boyfriends. I had chicken breast with a creamy lemon-caper sauce. It must’ve been ’98. I can see the restaurant, the people, feel what I felt then. And that memory in turn pulls the thread of many other associated memories involving other people and thoughts back then. It just goes from there. But I love this memory of mine, despite the holy terror it strikes in people, because this is how I keep my life’s lessons and remember how to give gratitude for them, and cherish all the wonderful things that existence has and will continue to give me.