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

Truth time: I have a bit of an ego. I think I’m awesome, so this is a great prompt. Let’s do this.

1. I’m independent. I’ve been off my parents’ payroll, as my dad says, since the day I graduated college. I may not have a 401(k), and the amount I pay in rent every month makes me weep, but I pay it out of the money I earn. I love having that freedom to decide what’s important to me.

2. I follow my dreams. So many people never go after what they really want and die with regrets. I used to think I would be one of those people too – but I woke up one day and realized that it’s all within my reach, so why not go for it? Some of my dreams have come true and some are still in progress, but you can bet that if I don’t reach them, it’s not for lack of trying.

Visiting NYC in 2008, dreaming of moving to the big city someday – Six years later, I did.

3. I have an awesome natural hair color. I had nothing to do with this one, but I love my hair. It’s brown, but when it grows long it has a sort of natural auburn ombre. People are always asking me what dye I use. None! Also, I haven’t always appreciated this. I went full-on redhead after college, and in middle school I had those chunky blonde streaks made popular by Kelly Clarkson. But who didn’t?

4. I’m close to my family. Sometimes I take this for granted, but I’m super close to my parents and siblings even though we’re scattered across the country. I love taking time out of my day to chat with them and catch up on what’s going on in their lives.

5. I’m good at making friends. When I was younger, I didn’t have many friends (but the ones I had were top-notch), and they were sort of built-in – kids from girl scouts, Sunday School, actual school, dance team. Even in college and directly after, my friends were from the dorms, my journalism classes, my job. But since moving to New York I’ve met so many incredible people from such a wide variety of backgrounds and I cherish them so much.

6. I’m calm in a crisis. This one I’ve had to work on a lot. I used to panic easily, but over the past couple years I’ve managed to learn to keep calm in the moment and freak out after the fact. Baby steps.

7. I have decent self-control. I donated so much crap when I moved from Phoenix – I’m talking two entire carloads to Goodwill, plus all the stuff I offloaded on my brother and friends. Why does one person have so much STUFF?! Since getting to New York, every time I buy something I ask myself, would this just end up in the ‘donate’ pile if I moved tomorrow? I’ve cut way down on useless spending this way and it’s getting easier every time.

8. I’m a good employee. In every job I’ve had, I’ve aimed to be the best I can be – I show up on time, focus, communicate, and generally get stuff done. I feel like these things get noticed even more than things like hitting target numbers and writing strong pieces (though obviously I try to do those things as well).

9. … but I’m not afraid to have a good time. I take a full hour for lunch every day to read in a park or curl up in a cafe so I come back re-energized. I leave the office at 5 p.m. and spend my evenings and weekends exploring NYC and the world. When I’m at work, I’m 100% there – but when I’m not, I’m 100% not. Frankly, I think that makes me an even better employee.

10. I’m a good cook. This is last on the list because I haven’t cooked much since moving to Brooklyn, where the appliances are made for a dollhouse and I have to share them with a roommate. But I’m good at cooking, I love cooking, and I spend less money when I cook. I need to cook more.

What do you love about yourself?

Let’s talk personality types. Introverted? Extroverted? Unsure-troverted? 😉 If you know your Myers-Briggs type, tell us about it! If not, you can take this similar test and share your results.

I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on my personality, but I took that test Bailey Jean recommended and the results mostly confirmed what I suspected. Let’s analyze Leigh Anne, shall we?

INFJ

• You have distinct preference of Introversion over Extraversion (67%)

No surprise here. I love and adore my friends and family, but I’ve always been the sort to require alone time as well. I definitely get anxious if I go a few days without having time alone to read or write.

• You have slight preference of Intuition over Sensing (12%)

This is about right. I definitely feel like I have a strong intuition, but I’m also practical and pragmatic when it comes to problem-solving.

• You have slight preference of Feeling over Thinking (12%)

This one actually does surprise me a bit. I’m a big fan of logic, list-making, and making practical decisions rather than being overridden by emotion. I would have guessed I was more thinking than feeling.

• You have moderate preference of Judging over Perceiving (56%)

This is definitely me. I am goal-oriented and like things to go according to plan.

And now, for some fun updates from my life! The #BlogtemberChallenge is so fun but I want to keep you guys up-to-date on other stuff as well 😉

• I had such a relaxing weekend (Saturday night + Sunday, thanks to my work schedule). I read a lot, finished season 3 (and started season 4) of Gossip Girl, and only left the apartment to go to church on Sunday. Such a change from the past few weekends of traveling!
• My roommate Becca and I just bought tickets to see Nick Offerman at the New York Comedy Festival this fall. We are both huge Parks and Recreation fans so I am already so excited for the evening! We’ll probably go eat ALL OF THE BACON AND EGGS before hand.
• The highlight of my day today was getting a phone call from my friend Kathleen, whom I haven’t seen in over a year (the curses of living on opposite coasts). She just called to tell me she was eating a fruit bar, because she felt like I would appreciate that. I do indeed.

That’s it for today! Can’t wait to link up and chat with you all! 

Music that moves you. Are you a Spotify addict or a Pandora guru? Tell us your favorite artists/stations!

Oh man. I feel like this is going to be a regurgitation of yesterday’s books post, in that I listen to a lot of music, and a wide range of it at that.

My favorite genre is country. I know what you’re thinking – that makes sense, she grew up in Texas. But the truth is that when I was living in Dallas – ages 12 to 18 – I dug in my heels and refused to like country because everyone else did. I listened to a lot of pop music at that point and it wasn’t until I moved to Arizona that I started to come around to country music, much to the chagrin of my friends who spent years trying to get me into it.

My favorite country artists are Lady Antebellum, The Band Perry (I saw them in concert a few years ago and it was amazing), Blake Shelton and Sugarland. The truth, though, is that I’ll listen to any country artist at least once, and I love most of them. I have a Spotify playlist simply titled “Country Music I Love” with over 22 hours of music on it.

I’m also trying to listen to more praise and worship music outside of just on Sundays, and Spotify has been excellent for discovering music from this genre, but I’m certainly open to suggestions here.

As you might have gathered, I’m a huge fan of Spotify. I used to use Pandora exclusively, but when Spotify became available in the US three years ago, I made the switch almost immediately. I love being able to listen to whatever I want, whenever I want, even if what I want is to listen to the same song on repeat for an entire workday. I also have a Spotify Premium subscription so I can listen to music on the subway. I can’t imagine my commute without it!

I’ll leave you with my favorite song at the moment, How Far Do You Wanna Go? by Gloriana.

What are you listening to? Any suggestions for me?