I'm pretty much awesome.
I mostly reserve talking about my awesomeness for when something comes up in conversation that I can relate to one of my experiences. Bad thing is, some of the things I've done or can do are unusual or unique, so they just don't come up. Here are a few of those:
7. I've won a bunch of awards. 2nd in Indiana on the National Spanish Exam in High School, Top 10 student at IUPUI (twice), and a Joint Service Achievement Medal for doing some pretty badass analytical process work in Bosnia are a few that I rarely talk about. Maybe 30 or 40 more on top of that.
6. I think in Spanish. When I speak in Spanish, I don't translate from English... an important step to becoming fluent in a language. With a little refresher, I could live comfortably in some Spanish-speaking part of the world, or hold a job as a translator.
5. I'm an artist. I've done some drawings, written some poetry, done some cool stuff in Photoshop.
4. I'm a geek.
3. I know how to maintain myself. In the Army I was a squad leader and fitness trainer. I ran two marathons and scored a 290 out of 300 on the Army's physical training (PT) test. My latest fitness passion is biking on the Monon Trail.
2. I've dodged a few bullets:
-When I was very young, I tripped on a drainage hole in a bridge near my house, and tumbled over the side. My Mom caught me by my ankle just before I would've dove headfirst into the shallow creek below.
-I almost joined a "gang" in junior high school, and almost started smoking (and not just cigarettes).
-I "dated" a girl at 14 who got pregnant very shortly after we broke up. We had discussed sex and she told me about her parent's condoms which she said we could use. They were made of lambskin and, seeing that that type of condom apparently isn't the greatest, I am wholly convinced had we had sex I would have a kid right now.
- I had pneumonia as a baby, and a partially collapsed lung as an adult. And a punctured eardrum.
1. I'm not ashamed of making a fool out of myself. I'd do Karaoke, dancing, sumo wrestling, mechanical bull riding,
vlogging, whatever sounds fun. I probably look like a doofus doing it. And I don't care.
Written with inspiration from half-drunk bar conversations and
Chris Brogan, responding to the "I Want to Brag A Minute" topic prompt.
