If you haven’t heard Mary Lambert’s new song yet, give it a listen:

Girl knows how to write a good (and catchy!) tune and this one speaks to those of us who might struggle with self-image issues. Blame the media? Sure, I bet things I’ve seen in movies and magazines have given me slight complexes. Blame kids in school? Definitely, they can be cruel – especially when you’re chubby, wear glasses, and have braces. Blame yourself? YES – embrace who you are, don’t let other people define who you are.

Easier said than done, right? I’m still working on my confidence and sharing who I really am with others… and I’ll be 30 next month. But I’m grateful for who I am – grateful for the life experiences and relationships that have shaped me. In the spirit of sharing and expressing gratitude for being me, here is a list of some of my ‘secrets’ – I don’t care if the world knows them 🙂

• I have a bossy streak. It was worse when I was younger (my sisters will agree), but I have to fight the urge to control every. single. thing.
• Dancing makes me happy. But I’m terribly uncoordinated. I still dance though, haters gonna hate.
• I’m extremely emotional. I don’t think that’s a bad quality to have – it makes me compassionate and empathetic. But I will cry if you look at me cross-eyed.
• I am a planner. Organizing things gives me this high I cannot describe, how very Type A of me.
• I fight being jealous of my pretty friends. But it’s my own fault for have such a gorgeous group of girlfriends – lucky me!
• I love Disney World. Most people know I love Disney, but it’s really focused on Disney World and the films of the late 80s through the 90s. I don’t know much trivia, I don’t idolize Walt, but I will cry when I see Cinderella’s Castle or watch the fireworks show (see third bullet).
• I’m passive aggressive. To the max. I will talk about the bad service I’m getting from a waitress 0.3 seconds after she’s turned around, loud enough so she can hear me. It’s not the best quality, so I’m trying to fix that bad habit.
• I really, really love to sing. But I’m timid about singing, like letting it all out, in front of other people. I have a playlist that I only listen to when I want to belt it out during a nice shower when no one is home.
• I am super competitive. More like dangerously competitive. I’ve been known to break game controllers by throwing them against walls (oops). I also get mad at people when they are better than me. Just a game? Don’t even utter those words in my presence… I’m mostly kidding.
• I struggle with being overweight. I was always a chubby kid, it’s in my DNA. I wouldn’t say I had a full-fledged eating disorder in high school, but I definitely skipped 75% of my meals when I could get away with it. Right before our wedding, I was over 200 pounds. Yikes. I got focused and dropped the weight – down to a size 10/12 at my lowest (that picture below still blows my mind). I’m up a little again and now fit comfortably into a 14 size jean (still not too shabby), but I’m getting back on track and hope to get down to my goal of 8/10 through eating healthy and exercising more.