oneofakindconformist

[oneofakindconformist]

Welcome to my blog! Also: 45 questions.

I’m Anne. I’ve decided to start a real blog because isn’t that the thing to do in this day and age instead of a diary? I’m not sure exactly where I want to go with it yet, but memory can be tricky, so having your thoughts and feelings written down to look back on is a more accurate record than the human brain.

But the focus today will be on me, and it’s my blog, so I’m going to answer 45 questions (since that’s my favorite number) about myself.

1.) Any upcoming travel plans? I’m planning on going to New York to visit one of my friends this winter, and I’m very excited about it. I’m also planning to visit another one of my friends who lives in my state, just four hours away.

2.) When you’re not working, how do you like to spend your time? I like to read, write, cook, bake, and look at or take pictures.

3.) What are you reading currently? I’m reading “Rumble” by Ellen Hopkins.

4.) What’s the first concert you attended? My Chemical Romance and blink-182. I thought I was much edgier at the time.

5.) Where do you most hope to visit? I would love to go to Amsterdam and Sweden, though a good general answer would be Europe.

6.) What’s your dream job? I’m studying to be a social worker. If I had unlimited funds, I would probably be a writer or a pastry chef.

7.) What’s your favorite word? Right now, I really like the word “soliloquy”. It sounds far nicer than “talking to myself”. 

8.) What’s one thing your mother/father taught you that completely changed your life? This has applied to so many situations: “You never know what goes on between two people.” Essentially, you cannot fully understand the dynamic between two non-you people. 

9.) What’s the last text you sent? A friend sent me a picture of their new cat, so I said, “HE LOOKS SO SOFT”.

10.) What’s one of your favorite memories? One of my favorite memories is in high school, when a bunch of my friends would be in the band room after a marching band/football game, and we’d sing “Any Way You Want It” by Journey, “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen, and, if they band directors were feeling nice, “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey as we’d take off our uniforms and get ready to go to Waffle House or Steak ‘n Shake together. 

11.) Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give your 18-year-old self? You don’t have to know everything right now: What you want to do with your life, who you are, and anything else. You’ll change a lot in the years to come, and you’ll be glad you do. Getting away from home will be a great experience for you, but it won’t cure the blues completely.

12.) If you could instantly become an expert in something, what would it be? I’d love to be an expert in baking. 

13.) What does success mean to you? To me, success is having the important needs met and some of the wants met, and generally being able to go to bed satisfied with your life. 

14.) What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? “You will never regret being kind to people.”

15.) How can someone win a gold star with you? By being funny without being mean. 

16.) What energizes you and brings you excitement? Spending time with the people I love and getting to do the things I love.

17.) What qualities do you value in the people with whom you spend? I value being a good listener, compassion, a sense of humor, and consideration of others. 

18.) What does your dream day look like? Honestly, I’d be in New York visiting my friend and we’d go on little adventures together. 

19.) If you had to choose only 3 adjectives to describe yourself, which would you choose? Inquisitive, Expressive, Opinionated. 

20.) What do you give a damn about? From a social work perspective, I really want to work on helping (possibly through individual counseling) women who have been abused and LGBTQ+ adults and teens.

21.) What is a dream you have that you’ve yet to achieve? I would love to live in a big and beautiful city. I haven’t done that yet, but all in good time. 

22.) What did you have to give up to achieve your current level of success? I’ve had to give up the idea that I would graduate in four years from the university I started at. I’ve had to give up the idea that I would know what I wanted to do for the rest of my life at 18. And I had to give up the idea that anything other than what I wanted was a personal failure on my end. 

23.) Who were you named after? Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables. My mom read the book and saw the movie over ten years before I was born, and years before she had met my dad, but she decided that’s what she wanted to name her first daughter. 

24.) For what are you most grateful today? I got some information about a class I need to take will around half the cost that I thought it would be, and I can take it with a professor I love. 

25.) Of what are you most afraid? I’m most afraid of not being successful in life. 

26.) Do you prefer to be behind the character or in front of it? Behind the camera. I love taking pictures, but I’m not as happy about being in them. 

27.) What type of music are you into? I’m into a variety. I grew up listening to a lot of AT40 countdowns from the 1970s, so a lot of that stuff has stuck with me. Though three artists I’m into right now are Lana Del Rey, Father John Misty, and The Weeknd. 

28.) What was the best vacation you ever took and why? Either going to New York to visit my friend or going to Chicago with my band class, including a bunch of my friends. 

29.) What makes a great relationship? Trust, communication, similar values, honesty, respect, intimacy, commitment, and passion. 

30.) What is the best decision you’ve made in your life so far? I think I’ve made good choices about the friends in my life. I have a lot of fulfilling relationships throughout my (short) life so far, and I’m so grateful for them.

31.) What was your favorite age growing up? Honestly, my high school years (while dramatic) were really fun. I had a lot of good friends and was really involved. I don’t miss high school, but there definitely are a lot of people who I miss. 

32.) Was the last thing you read digital or in print? I’ve been looking for questions for this post, so lists of questions. 

33.) Would you say you’re more of an extrovert or an introvert? I think I’m an ambivert. There are times when spending time with people is energizing, but it can also be draining. There are times when I really crave spending time with people, but I also value time to myself. 

34.) What’s a relationship deal breaker for you? One of the reasons my last relationship ended was because that person was inconsiderate of others. However, I’ve “ended” friendships because I learn that they’re abusive, even if it’s not directed at me. 

35.) What are you most proud of in the last year? I’m proud that I’m on my last semester before I get my associate’s degree. 

36.) If you won a million dollars, what would you do with the money? I’d pay for my degree and for a new car, I’d pay off my parents’ house, I’d pay off some of my friends’ student loans, give some to charity and invest the rest.

37.) What do you regret not doing in the last year? I wish I had gotten started on my weight loss earlier in the year. 

38.) What’s on your bucket list? I made a bucket list with over 1,000 items when I was 16. Since then, I’ve reduced it down because some of those things aren’t as important/interesting to me now. The gist is that I want to travel, get my degree, get a job I love, and learn a lot about the world around me. 

39.) If you had unlimited money to start your own business, what would it be? It would probably be either a bookstore/bakery or a bar only for women. 

40.) What do most people know you for? One person who’s known me in college and high school said she knew me for liking the Beatles and feminism. I’m not so much into the Beatles anymore, but intersectional feminism, definitely. 

41.) What would be the title of your memoir? I have a nugget of an idea for a book sort of based on a period in my life. The working title is “The Edge of Seventeen”. 

42.) Do you believe in the phrase, “If it’s meant to be, it will be?” I believe in that for relationships to a certain degree, but when it comes to career, academic, and hobby goals, you have to work for it. That said, relationships of all kinds take work. 

43.) Do you have any phobias? I used to be afraid of elevators, but not anymore. 

44.) Do you have a collection of anything? I collect everything I’ve ever written so I can look back on it later, but I also have a collection of Birchboxes.

45.) What song would you consider your personal anthem? “Old 45s” by Chromeo.