Some things you should know about me

As I look forward to connecting with some new bloggers in a weekly topic format, I guess it's a good time to re-introduce myself. In fact, when I started this blog, I was so passionate about the topic that got me writing that I don't know that I ever did introduce myself and since my links back to old posts are infrequent and my about section is weak, this is my chance to explain things.

I think the number one thing that guides my blog is confidentiality.
 Weird for a blog that is public, right? I work in the therapeutic/social worky field. Specifically, I focus on trauma survivors and domestic violence. While I have oodles of things I want you to know about that, I don't want my blog to be about work. Yet, because of the nature of the work and the way I have to use myself in my work, I feel it's important to limit certain information I share about myself such as lots of pictures, names, locations, specifics. I am wary of that kind of information getting into the wrong hands. However, I also find it an obstacle in connecting with readers who don't already know some of those things about me because of a personal relationship. Sorry about that. I do my best to work around that.

I am not a parent.
For a lot of blogs, that's not a big deal. For my age and a lot of my peers, it sometimes feels like it is. Culturally, having been raised Mormon and still practicing that in my own unique way, it feels like a very big deal. That cultural identity and my feelings of varying from it while wanting to stay connected to it was one of the driving forces behind my creating a blog. While I might not fit the norm for a lot of categories, I usually think that's a great thing and that I bring a lot of interesting thought frameworks to coalesce in one place, creating a unique voice. Often, I have thought that I would be an ideal candidate for the Amazing Race because of all of those combining forces: Mormon with a nose ring, victim advocate, interracial marriage, triathlete, rods in my spine...wouldn't you want to watch me race all over the globe? 
For a while I wanted my blog to focus more on traveling because I truly adore travel and I prioritize it but I just don't want to limit myself to one topic when there are so many things I want to say! And I don't specialize in it or live it every day like many travel bloggers. The meaning behind the title of my blog, Aspiring to the Middle, is that I have a lot of areas of interest but I may not be #1 in any of them. I was really good at going to school and getting great grades but that becomes less and less impressive as you get older (at least less brag worthy as SAT scores as a pickup line at 32-and married-no longer swing it). Since then, I have been lucky enough to be able to indulge in a variety of hobbies and passions and I usually fall somewhere in the middle of the pack for all of them. And that's ok-I'm just glad to be along for the ride and have so many awesome experiences! 
And to bring this rant full circle, I think it's noteworthy to not be a parent at the moment since a lot of my readers as well as the other folks I will be blogging with about these topics ARE parents. It's just another "other" category I fit into at this stage in life and I own that with pride.

Just because I love trashy reality tv it does not mean I am vapid.
Some people watch Law and Order SVU and learn things. I watch that and am reminded of things I have heard real people come to me for help about. Not that I avoid all of those kinds of shows but by the time I get home at the end of the day, it's like I want to perform reverse osmosis on my brain until it feels like it resembles cotton candy. Reality tv is great for that! And I can't help if some of my enthusiasm for the entertainment value of the shows I watch bubbles over here. Just like I can't help but tell you about the crushes I form on the love interests in the young adult novels I read. You can listen to your NPR and feel elitist but I will be having more fun than you.


So let's just do a little summary in the form of a list. 
LIKES
Cats, reality tv, sleeping, hiking, triathlons, therapy-speak and the DSM IV-R, books, journaling, home decorating, travel, road trips, the beach, the pool, summer, fall, my SodaStream machine, the colors green and yellow, Hollister jeans, lipgloss, demolition derbies, ice cream, hammocks, strong vocabulary skills, my back doctor, quotes, Halloween, Counting Crows, Micheal Franti and Spearhead, caprese salads and sandwiches, Target
DISLIKES
People who post about who to vote for all the time, seafood, every other driver on the road, most sports, when you can see or smell that someone doesn't floss, early mornings, overly air conditioned spaces, when a line forms behind me at a store checkout because I am buying so much, vets who lack empathy, whipped cream, country music, the concept of blu-ray discs, mice, moose crossing signs, the 50 Shades of Grey phenomenon, the dad from Harry and the Hendersons
 
Ok, if you know me and I missed some defining quality, please chime in but be gentle. If you don't know me, hopefully now you know a little more about the person behind the keyboard and what might inform the posts I hope you will read.