8 things about me.

Ms. M at Ms. M’s Apples tagged me for a meme. Is this the first meme I’ve ever done? I think it may actually be the second. Regardless, here I go:

The rules are:
1. Let others know who tagged you.
2. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
4. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.

And here are the 8 random facts...

1. When I was in middle school, I wanted to be an autism specialist when I grew up.

2. I am, at times, incredibly awkward. I kind of love it.

3. Overall, I am quite happy with who I am as a person, emotionally, mentally, and physically. This is not to say I don’t have many things I would change about myself, but I think that I have accepted who I am. (This also may be negative though, in that I don't necessarily actively attempt to change things about myself that I should change.)

4. I still wear my retainer at night (about 9 years after getting the braces off). I figure my parents paid way too much money for my “Dr. Ortho Smile,” I might as well keep my teeth straight. The problem is, now I have a hard time falling asleep without the retainer.

5. Even if I am given a larger bed, I will only sleep on one tiny little corner of it. I am a very contained sleeper.

6. I look shy to other people, but I don’t really consider myself to be shy so much as introverted, an internal thinker, and kind of…contained? I did a research project on shyness in an attempt to clarify this distinction. It turns out that the researchers are in disagreement on whether shyness and introversion are part of the same trait or two distinct traits.

7. I really like giving presentations in front of my class. I even liked it when I was in Mexico and spoke pretty poorly. I just think it's fun! However, I have in the past had a very difficult time participating in day-to-day class discussions. (See above - I appear to be shy.)

8. It usually takes (or rather, took) me between 10 and 30 minutes to write an email to a professor. This includes emails that are short responses or questions (fewer than 4 sentences). Longer emails take (took) significantly longer to compose. I want to represent myself well. I don’t want to be one of those students who send inappropriate/unprofessional emails to professors. (I tend to obsess/over-think/overanalyze most things.)

I’m not going to tag anyone. I’m oddly too self-conscious for that. Sorry. (Besides, most everyone has already done this meme, or at least it feels that way.)