Why is it More Difficult to Describe Myself?

It's a dreaded question at job interviews:"Tell me about yourself." It's more like a command than a question, and in that situation, it seems there are a multitude of traps to talk yourself into and then try to dig out of. Why should talking about ourselves be so hard? Perhaps it's because deep down, we don't really want people to know the real us for fear that we are unacceptable or ugly. I guess you could say I'm a contradiction, I'm an extroverted introvert and I'm very insecure about that. But really there is a more friendly answer to that question!

I was born in Los Angeles County, to a young couple who've managed to stay married for 30 years, they'd only been married a year and a half when I came around. I was their first child, and I would be their only daughter. I have two younger brothers, one is two and a half years younger than I am and the other is eight and a half years younger than me. So, yes, I was a bossy big sister! I had an imagination that wouldn't quit, I still do I just don't pretend I have a pet snake named Seymour(an old necklace of my grandmother's) or that I'm Mary Lou and the front yard is my tumbling mat. Or that I'm Wonder Woman. (I loved underrooves).

I love Baseball, I have since I was little, I liked the Dodgers and the Angels equally; I still do! We moved to Southern Oregon when I was 13 and we were shocked at how good minor league baseball… wasn't. In high school I was the stat keeper for the Baseball team due to bad knees and even worse running ability! But I had fun!

I've always loved animals, I had several cats and two dogs at different times growing up, and now I have a cat and a dog and love them both to pieces! I had a bird too, and then another one that my husband just hated! Birdie was a noisy bird!

When I was three I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior, and have continued to build on that relationship through the years. Sometimes there is rapid growth and sometimes it's microns, but it's always been steadily forward. I've never been one to wander far from home.

I love to listen to music in the car and when I work out, but I'd rather not listen to anything when I'm at home. That may change when I'm home more, but right now I have a noisy job, so the quiet of home is welcome!

I was one of those kids who "Would be good at anything they choose" so no one pressured me to choose anything; and I was scared to tell people what I really wanted to be, because then they would want to read it. I wanted to be a Journalist/Novelist. But I never wanted my parents to read anything I wrote. They may have pushed me if I'd shown them, but what can you do? So, I took a year off and taught pre-school, three year olds. I went to college the next year looking to teach Health/PE. But I met my husband and decided I wanted to do something vocational. I thought Dental Hygiene would be cool, but then decided Assisting was more fun. I've been a Dental Assistant for 8 years and while I still like my job, I'm ready to be a stay at home mom. It was always my ultimate goal!

I was always the " Steady" friend. My parents were together, I was pretty grounded, but I was also a dreamer and completely absorbed in my own world of fantasy. Sometimes that fantasy leaked out into my real life and got me into trouble. But on the whole, I was the friend that people came to when they had troubles at home. I was the "mom" and I helped everyone. And I didn't really know how to ask for help when I needed it myself. If I got hurt I would just go off on my own and deal with it in my head. Thank God Jer knows how to crack the egg and help me talk about things!

Now, I'm fun, I love to cook and entertain people in my home. I love to walk my dog and go to Yoga. I don't love to go to the gym, but I do! All of this seems sort of shallow, but I don't define myself by the things I like, I define myself by my relationships with others. I care about people, and I try to love people even if it seems like they are not very loveable. Sometimes I FAIL at that completely. Sometimes I succeed. As I write about other people in my family, perhaps more of the "real" me will be evident. But this is at least the 411 on Kelley. J