List 10 things you love about yourself! Let’s kick that negative self-talk outta here!

Instead of doing what I really want to do — prefacing this with a paragraph about how uncomfortable it is to say you like something about yourself, and how I hope this doesn’t sound arrogant or silly — I’ll just go ahead and jump in.

I like my independence. If I want to go to a restaurant, and no one’s available to go with me, I’ll eat there by myself. If I want to see something, and no one else is interested, I’ll see it by myself. If I want to live somewhere, I’ll live there by myself. I like the fact that I don’t need a buffer of people to enjoy my surroundings.

I like that I read and type fast. I can gulp down words quickly, and burn them into a keyboard quickly, too. Both convenient skills when you can’t get enough of them.

Similar but not the same — I like that I can write. It’s a good thing, because (unless it’s an actual speech and I had the chance to write it out before) I am no good at expressing my thoughts any other way. Writing has opened up a lot of doors for me. I’m grateful for its portability, too. Who can take it from you, when you can take it with you anywhere?

I like that I can be at home anywhere. I really believe that you could dump me anywhere on earth and I could make a home of it. It may not be my ideal (if it’s not a city, it probably won’t be), but I could find something I loved about it, something that made it worth being there. Likewise, offer to take me on a trip just about anywhere and I’m on board. I’m not adventurous at all, I just like places.

I like my work ethic. It really only applies to actual work (I wish I had applied it to school). Actually, if we’re being honest, it applies disproportionately to work I enjoy in some way — but I’m lucky enough to’ve felt that, at least a little, for all but one or two menial jobs. I like that I enjoy working and I like that I’m willing to overdo it a little.

I like my hair. I spent most of my life hating it because it is 100 percent insane and uncontrollable. I finally decided to just embrace the madness, and that’s made my life better.

I like the fact that I’m not afraid to have feelings. And, yes, let me tell you — I have a lot of them. If I’m not feeling some kind of overwhelming emotion, I’m probably asleep. But I think that giving in to those emotions — not allowing them to control me, but allowing myself to really feel — is such a key part of being alive. I have no interest in pretending to be on a cool, even keel.

I like that I am growing. This one varies depending on the season I’m in, but I generally refuse to be stagnant, and I like that. It was hard to think of ten discrete things I like about myself; this one was easier: When it comes to all the things I don’t like about myself, I know I’ll work to change them.

But really, everything good in me is Jesus. Those aren’t empty words. I have tried to develop good in myself independently, but I’ve found that I’m in constant, desperate need of a hand to pull me out of the muck & mire (and the more earth-bound parts of me want so badly to call that muck and mire home). I owe everything to Jesus, who makes me new.