Random Thoughts
| You Are 50% Normal (Somewhat Normal) |
 You’ve got a little of your freak going on But you mostly keep your weirdness to yourself |
I was surprised to find out just how normal I was. In my past I have been told “you are the oddest person I know.” Indeed, one of my Ph.D. thesis committee members described me to someone else as “She is her own unique self.” Called unique by another scientist when we are already odd as a group?! I tend to take such comments as a complement, whether they were meant that way or not. Why would I want to be just like everyone else? It is not that I try to be different; I am just myself. For me it’s all about being comfortable in my own skin, sleeping well & not being disappointed with me when I look in the mirror.
So anyway, Kyra’s post had me thinking today….why would you want to be normal when you can be extraordinary? I am an adequate teacher. I would love to be great. I tend to be an excellent student. I with a little work I could be outstanding. I’m a very good to excellent scientist. I would love to be on the cutting edge. There are just so many things that I could be better at…why would I want to be average or normal?
Other random musings of the day….
Have you ever been offered what you thought you wanted only to realize that it did not look as great close up? Would you go for the old dream if you don’t have a new one in place even though it’s not as enticing as it once was?
I was asked today what I wanted professionally. I used to know the answer to this question. How odd to not know the answer or to not be able to articulate it on a moments notice. I have been thinking about this to try to find an answer. The best I can come up with is that I want to be valued & wanted. I want the job to be interesting & challenging. I want to earn a reasonable salary for my efforts. I would like the job to be somewhat secure. Is that vague enough? Until I started peering out the window of the Ivory Tower I had a specific answer to this question. Now I just don’t know.
I think it’s always hard to articulate exactly what you want when put on the spot – mostly because what we want isn’t black and white, and short and to the point. It’s a multi-level thing that isn’t so easy to put in a box. But it IS worth thinking over! And maybe you are already farther down the path to where you want to be than you realized too.
I can’t believe how NORMAL you are! LOL
Hi Kyra
Sigh, I know I am apparently quite NORMAL. Alas.
I think part of the problem is that I really do not know where we will physically be in 3 to 5 years. Hubby, who is an IT guy, is currently in Law School at night. I’ll be finishing up my evening MBA program in 2006. What new opportunities will these extra degrees create for us? Further, hubby grew up in New England and misses the trees & ocean. Will we even be in Colorado in 3 to 5 years? Since the questions I was asked yesterday were somewhat specific to my current employment situation, how do I answer?
Honestly, I have a great life now which also makes such questions difficult to answer. I do in fact have interesting and challenging work. I’m happily married. I’m getting healthier all the time through BFL. I am trying to expand my comfort zone through extra schooling and pushing my running mileage. My biggest hurdle is complacency. It’s just so easy to put on a Cheshire cat grin and pat a nice full belly when life is good (thus the need for BFL in the first place).