Oh man, the “About” page. Dunh, duhn, duhn.

I judge people on their ‘about’ page. Not necessarily negatively, or positively, really. It’s like a handshake or first eye contact to me. It’s about clicking- somehow, some way, with someone or everyone, or maybe just the cool people, or the people that you think are cool. I think that if people can relate to you from your ‘about’ page right off, your words will have a stronger impact on them. They’ll see themselves in your situations, they’ll laugh with you and not just at you. They’ll feel empathy, and not just sympathy. They’ll ‘get’ you, and in turn, they’ll love you. Or maybe just your words. Or maybe not at all. Whatever, really.

Some people take them really seriously and spend lots of time writing about who they think they are, what they’ve accomplished, what they like, where they’re headed.
Some people are informal and write about what they like to eat and how many cats they have. And they use lowercase letters when they shouldn’t, maybe to make things feel more personal.

Here’s my “About” :
My birthday is in November, but I wish it was in September so I could have had an outdoor birthday party when school was in, on a weekend afternoon or something, with cool games and water balloons and tshirts and party dresses (for those who’d have liked to wear one, I’d have been is shorts). I didn’t love my name when I was little, mostly because it was never on a pencil like ‘Jessica’ or ‘Jennifer’ but now that I’m older, I appreciate it a lot- plus, the letter q in cursive writing is badass. I have two different sized feet (like 2 sizes difference) which means that I’m pretty much limited to flip flops, lace up shoes, or boots. I feel as though my inner fashionista would bankrupt me if this were not the case- there are only so many things you can pair with Blundstones or sandals. I don’t watch TV, and a lot of people find it hard to relate to me because of this. They immediately flip over to talking about the weather and that’s when I mentally check out of the conversation. Walking by the olive bar in the Superstore while grocery shopping is one of the things I dread most about having to feed my family (THE SMELL- ugh!), but I won’t shop anywhere else because I know the layout of the store so well that it’s worth the 15 seconds of misery. I’m horrible at loading the dishwasher, opening cereal bags, rearranging (‘organizing’) messes, styling my hair, and texting people back in a timely fashion. I do photography for a living, though try not to call myself a photographer too often, and giggle when people call me ‘a creative’ or ‘an artist.’ I don’t believe in miracles or gods or everything I read. I do believe in love and wine and time. And good food. And good manners, but not social norms. I love awkward. I’m in love with my partner and the life we’re making for ourselves and I’m just starting to be in love with my son, who is slowly fading from a small, demanding stranger and morphing into a really fun friend. I’ve always loved my dog, from before I even met her. Horses, ripe oranges and avocados, Cadbury cream eggs, too-hot summer days, Randy Travis songs, lemon pie, and wool socks are all so good for my soul. I have a habit of telling everyone a little something, but never telling anyone everything. I often wonder if I should write these things down: my musings, little discoveries, aha! moments. Maybe you’ll be able to relate, who knows. Chances are (socially speaking), probably not, but I’m going to anyway.