Writer's Workshop: Learning to Celebrate Myself Again - 15 Reasons I am Awesome!

Somewhere along the road of my life, I learned that it wasn't OK to compliment myself or point out the great things about me or speak proudly of an accomplishment. That would be bragging and bragging is very bad indeed, says some deep-seeded programming in my subconscious mind.

It got so bad that all too recently I wouldn't have been able to tell you one thing wonderful about myself or one thing I did well, even if I knew I was really good at something. I was even surprised when I would see someone on some social media platform shouting about how great they were.

This is a flaw from which I'm still... let's say... recovering. In big step forward, I'm linking up with Mama Kat (again!) today to give you 15 Reasons I am awesome! I actually feel intense discomfort at the thought of writing this, but growth requires squiggling out of old skin and though sometimes the process hurts, once you're on the other side it feels amazing! So, here we go:

1. I can bake a kick-ass bread better than anything they're selling on your supermarket shelves.

See that? That's what I made last night. Delicious!

2. I can type at a rate of 65 wpm with perfect accuracy.

3. I get 3 little kids ready, out the door and to school on time every single school day.

4. I can be ready myself in 20 minutes flat, when necessary (try that, Wonder Woman! And by 'Wonder Woman' I mean my sister).

5. I can pick up numerous toys with my toes and heave them into the toy box in a single bound.

6. I always admit my mistakes and apologize, especially with my kids.

7. I have beautiful greenish-hazel eyes. My favorite feature.

8. I'm good at writing silly, somewhat nonsensical poetry to make loved ones laugh their way through challenging situations (hard times, boot camp, police academy) as well as write beautiful verse for birthdays, anniversaries and other celebrations.

9. I'm a good mom. I'm raising people who have the freedom to express who they are, follow their interests and be anything they want to be. I encourage them to follow their passions and their joy and I accept them for who they are and who they will become.

10. I am like Mary Poppins when it comes to getting a whole lot of stuff into a small purse - diapers (though happily we don't need those anymore), wipes, hand-sanitizer, lipstick, a wallet, sunglasses x4, etc...

11. I have the ability to recognize a fault, and instead of complain about it to others, or ignore it, I challenge myself to change and become better than I was before. (This one is c/o my wonderful little brother).

12. I give really great hugs and I never let go too soon.

13. I can sing some mean Disney Princess songs, do a one-woman performance of Miss Saigon, frighten and entertain children with my version of The Witches Rap (Beans) from Into The Woods. Essentially, I'm trying to say that I'm a pretty good singer.

14. I constantly endeavor to improve myself. To become a better, more loving, more conscious person.

15. I have an adventurous spirit. I'll try almost anything at least once! And I never turn away from a challenge... like this list, moving across oceans, eating weird food that the French call 'delicacies', etc...

There! I did it. That was both harder and easier than I thought it would be. The hardest part was resisting the urge to qualify my awesome points (especially the 'good mom' one) with derogatory comments.

So, what about you? Tell me what makes you awesome! Then, go tell someone else something awesome about them. You can't always tell who deals with massive insecurity. Sometimes the ones who seem the most confident are the ones struggling the most.