i am like...

my mother:
I am creative. I take life like it is. I like to use weird sayings. I just want people to get along. And my favorite pen of all is the papermate profile. I have hair like my mother and a face like my mother. And I get strangely addicted to things all of the sudden and then they become extra popular. I love scrabble and vocabulary.

my father:
I am stubborn. And opinionated. And loud. And I can sing. And I have rhythm (though not grace, lest ye be confused). And sometimes I get angry when I really, really shouldn't. I don't like to admit I'm wrong unless it's irrefutable.

my grandmother:
I have a great "game face." I like to be prim and proper and polite, and can be so even when I don't want to. I like to spend a little and look like I spent a lot. And some people would probably accuse me of having weird priorities with my money. I want to give everything I've got in everything I do. And I won't tolerate bad service or bad attitudes. I hold myself to very high standards.

my grandfather:
for my immediate family I serve as the glue (not always, adam, but a lot of the time). I love love love getting a bargain--but only if it's something I actually want/need. I like to tell terrrrrrrible jokes. and I like making people laugh. I can be serious and practical when I need to be, and I like doing things myself instead of paying someone else. Sometimes I find that the best thing to do is shut my mouth and let other people talk it out. And I value my time by myself.

my sister:
I can be obnoxiously loud. sometimes I ramble on with every little detail when just a few would've sufficed. I like to collect things. random things. and sometimes not on purpose--it just happens. i am very sentimental and i will beat your ass if you mess with someone who is my friend. and sometimes i let people walk all over me or take advantage of me and i don't even realize it. i am proud to be me.

my younger brother:
i am sarcastic. i like to pick something and get real real involved in it. and i am comfortable making decisions that other people may not agree with. i also have a green thumb (though, for the record, i can't grow aloe vera, and he has more of it than he knows what to do with). i hold grudges, but only if it's deserved. and I am a nerd.

my youngest brother:
i have lots and lots of friends and I make them easily. neither of us know how we do it, but we do. i am musically inclined (though he sooooo wins). i like for everyone to get along. and i like it when my family is all together.

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I've been thinking about this a lot recently. I'd be lying to you if I told you it didn't have anything to do with my grandfather. But sometimes it strikes me--hey, Anna does that! Or Granny does that! Or Dan did that! And it freaks me out a little.

I am baffled by just how much we are the product of our experiences. And I'm amazed to find how strongly a few have affected me...I can't stand it when people aren't treated fairly, I am always concerned that someone will be left out and I'm anxious about going to my boyfriend's house for Christmas. I save everything, I have more yarn and pens than I will ever use and I constantly find myself in more and more positions with my church--how did that happen?!? I hate guns, will always try a new veggie (or one I think I don't like) and I speak up even if I'm the only one with the contrary opinion.

If you've known me long enough, you can probably pinpoint some of the pieces of my life that have created these tendencies. And if you think about it, you can probably identify your own experience-reality relationships.

but it's been on my mind, and I just wanted to share.