10 Surprising Things about Me

I got tagged to participate in the "10 Surprising Things about Me" by my friend at Percolating Petals. So during some downtime on my vacation I came up with this list. Hope you enjoy!

1. I am a night owl, but I am not able to keep a schedule that fits with my natural inclination. So I end up staying up later than I should, but then 6am comes (or 4:30 on some days) and I still get up. I think some of my insomnia issues may also come from going to bed (at a normal time, of course) before my body really feels ready. Naturally, I just tend to stay up late.

2. Growing up I always wanted to be a writer. I wrote short stories and even won some school-wide and county awards in elementary and middle school. I loved to read and make up my own stories. I kind of got away from it in high school but the dream is still there. Not sure if I'll ever write fiction as I had envisioned, but I do feel that I have something to share and I'm hoping I will one day.

3. Speaking of writing, I actually survived grad school and writing my master's thesis without coffee. I've actually never drank coffee in my life. I remember people telling me that I would once I hit those late-night thesis writing sessions with deadlines looming. Nope, not me! Instead I always kept a pound bag of M&Ms in the desk drawer in the grad student office and always brought some soda with me. So yeah, I had caffeine, just not coffee.

4. Okay, this one may surprise a lot of people: I was a cheerleader once upon a time. I was on a squad in elementary school. Cheerleading was definitely not my thing, but I did stick with it for two years.

5. And while we're on the topic of childhood activities, I also swam competitively for a few years. It was just on our neighborhood swim team, but it was a really good experience. I was certainly not a top competitor, but I enjoyed it and did well.

6. So swimming, I do like to swim, though I haven't done laps in years and years. I prefer pool swimming to ocean/lake swimming. So, I'm not really much of a beach person. I like the relaxing aspect of being at the beach, but really when it comes to swimming, I'd rather be in a pool.

7. Here's an odd one for you: I don't care for 3D movies. It's bothersome to me to have those silly glasses and I really don't care to be watching movies with things leaping out at me. Plus, movies are already expensive to go see, why should I pay an extra $5-$10 just to watch it in 3D? So whenever we want to watch a movie that is out in 3D, we usually choose the 2D option.

8. I want to learn how to knit! I've tried teaching myself a few times but still haven't learned a few essential tasks, like casting-off, kind of important. I had an opportunity to learn recently, but it was while I was going to be out of town. Hopefully I will have an opportunity again soon.

9. Sometimes I wish I had played the cello instead of the clarinet. I wouldn't trade any of my band experiences for anything. But I love the sound of the cello and have always thought it would be an awesome instrument to take up.

10. Although many people who know me now would disagree, if you've known me since I was a kid this is probably not a surprise. I am naturally a shy person, very shy. I've worked hard to appear more outgoing than I really am, though I still have some difficulties when around people that I don't know well. So yes, I am a shy person.

Time for me to also tag some others. So I will tag anyone who also wants to do this as well as the following bloggers I know:
Benotafraid at Analysis
Lynn B. at Feeding Souls
Nanette at The Crooked Halo
Let me know in the comments if you participated and leave a link to share.