I am participating in Tina’s 30 Days of Self Love series and was really excited about the first topic: Confidence. While I am by no means perfect I am very proud of the fact that most of the time I feel good about myself and my choices in life. Instead of writing a soliloquy I thought a Top Ten List would be much more effective.
Top Ten Things I Am Confident About
10) Moving Away for College- Deciding to move 5+ hours away from my home town and only knowing one other person was a big risk for me. Looking back eleven years this week it makes me appreciate being brave and going after something that I truly wanted.
9) Working Hard- I paid for school myself and worked a lot of hours at a few different jobs to make sure I had money for rent and food. Having had a job since I was 15 makes me appreciate how hard it is to make a living. Now that I am less than 6 months for turning 30 I know that all that hard work has paved a path to the type of success that I want.
8 ) Fitness- I enjoy working out and sharing that passion with others. I may not have been a great athlete but fitness is something I am good at. I can come up with programs and see results. Looking for a new fitness trend is something that is a lot of fun, trying a new class or starting a yoga practice make me even more committed to living a life full of fitness.
7) Travel- Having the strong desire to see the world and experience new cultures. I want to see it all! It makes me happy that people email me and ask me about trips and places that I want to see. Sharing that experience is what makes travel so fun.
6) Food- Over the past few years I have strived to become a good home cook, constantly trying new recipes and learning new techniques. It is fun to be known as the person who brings unique and healthy foods to events.
5) Wine- Learning about wine and how it pairs with food or can be enjoyed on its own has been a big self confidence booster for me. Being the lifetime learner that I am; reading books about wine, taking classes and even blending our own wine has made me realize that enjoying something and sharing that knowledge with others helps me become more confident in my knowledge and abilities.
4) Religion- I don’t talk about religion on the blog but my decision to live a life with no religion was not an easy choice. I grew up Lutheran and spent many years going to church and Sunday school and even at the age of 7 I knew I did not believe. I choose to live a life that does not include religion, a belief in God or in any sort of afterlife. While I may choose to life a life without religion I very strongly support those who do. I read blogs that have a strong faith focus and have many family members and friends who practice religion. Many have strong feelings about religion and this is not meant to be a debate, merely an acknowledgement that I am 100% confident in my beliefs.
3) Not Being Average- Everyone has the own unique qualities and I live my life celebrating my idiosyncrasies. I may have a strong need to keep things clean, control as much as I can and dream about having my own show on the Travel Channel but those are the things that make me the person that I am. I hope that everyone celebrates what makes them unique.
2) My Partner- I am confident that I choose the right partner for life, someone who loves me for who I am. Mike is incredibly supportive and does everything he can to help me live the life that I am striving towards.
1) Knowing Who I Am- I am very confident in the fact that I know who I am and what I want from life. Those are my choices and do not let anyone else change those or negate those. I have made a life for myself that lets me be who I am. The decision to end bad friendships and relationships was what ultimately brought me to the place of acceptance that I live in today. I am not perfect and I have flaws but I know what those are and work towards living a better life.
On all three of these I left the settings on the auto settings that happen when you changes modes. Very interesting to see the difference in photo quality. 
