The ABCs of Hannah

My mother did this on her blog a few weeks ago and I decided I wanted to give it a shot as well. So here are 26 words or phrases, A-Z, that describe me. At least somewhat.

A- Articulate
I think before I speak and almost always communicate better in writing because it's very important to me that I'm saying exactly what I mean. This also means that if I say something unclear in real life, I'm very likely to back up and fix it, even if it's pretty likely no one would misunderstand.

B- Balanced
I don't like extremes. I'm a big believer in moderation in everything. If somebody is arguing one point very strongly, I always want to jump in on the other end to try to bring some balance back into the conversation.

C- Completist
I like finishing things. I can't stop a movie or a book in the middle. If I'm going to watch a TV show, I'm going to watch it from the pilot episode all the way through the show finale. When I set out to make this list, I was determined to find something for the letter X as well.

D- Deep
Not in an "Oooh, she has profound thoughts" kind of way. This connects more to the fact that I don't do well with small talk and would much prefer to talk about bigger issues.

E- Electronics
I'm fairly gadgety. Not as much as some of my friends, but I like my electronics. If I'm in my house, I've got my laptop. If I'm out, I've got my MP3 player. And I always have my phone.

F- Finding patterns
I like patterns. Doesn't need to be a specific pattern - there's a Monk episode where two OCD patients fight over whether the magazines on the rack should have an even number of magazines per shelf or taper down 3, 2, 1. I wouldn't have cared, as long as there was some sort of discernible pattern. I do this with everything.

G- Grammar Nazi
I really, really, really like correct grammar, in my own speaking/writing as well as other people's. The one that drives me absolutely up-the-wall crazy is misuse of the word "literally." If someone uses that word to mean something other than what it actually means, I can no longer take anything they say seriously.

H- Honest
This one was provided for me by my friend Breana when I was stuck and asked for ideas. Heh. And she's correct - I really don't like lying (despite the fact that I've written at least one entire blog on how I tend to lie). But when I can't tell someone the exact truth for whatever reason, I like to come as close as I possibly can.

I- Introvert
I'm sure this one is completely shocking to all of you.

J- Jesus follower
I'm a Christian. Jesus is important to me. I write about that a lot, too.

K- Knowledgeable
Breana suggested this one to me as well. There are a lot of content areas where I am very knowledgeable, so if you get me going on one of the topics I know a lot about, I will have plenty to share.

L- Listener
I like listening to people. This works best when combined with the "Deep" aspect of myself - I really like listening to people talk about things that are deeply important to them. The more I listen to someone, the more I learn about them, and the more I learn how to talk to them.

M- Movie buff
I love me some movies, as you can also tell if you read my blog on a regular basis. I like to consider myself something of a movie buff. I read a lot about movies, watch as many of them as I can, and love discussing them with people.

N- Nerdy
Given the many different definitions of "nerdy," very few people meet all of them - but I certainly connect the most with the nerd community. Most of my closest friends are people who call themselves nerds, and most of my interests are considered nerdy. Oh, and also I like learning and school.

O- Open
There are very few things I will not share about myself with you if you ask. It's very hard to offend me with a personal question.

P- Phlegmatic
This fun word just means I'm mellow and laidback. Which I am.

Q- Quirky
Not Zooey-Deschanel-character quirky (I am quite functional in the real world, thank you) but I definitely have my quirks. As do most of my good friends.

R- Rheumatoid arthritis
I'm writing a blog post about this one of these days. I was diagnosed with RA at the end of my senior year of high school and it's definitely changed me - some good ways, some bad ways.

S- Stories
I love art - but more specifically I love story-based art. Music that tells a story, movies, books, theater... I also love hearing people's real-life stories.

T- Theater geek
And along with that... I love theater. (I go back and forth about whether I should spell it "theater" or "theatre" but spelling it "theatre" just makes me want to pronounce it the French way so let's go with "theater" for this blog entry.) Especially musical theater. If I could spend my whole life just going to see live show after live show every single day forever, I absolutely would.

U- Understanding
By "understanding," I mean that I like to know where other people are coming from. I like to know everyone's side of the story so I can start to try and understand who they are and why they make the decisions they make.

V- Verbal praise
This connects to my love language, which is "words of affirmation" - this means that I feel the most loved when people verbally express that to me. An encouraging compliment from someone can literally make my entire day better.

W- Witty
I hate putting this about myself because it's awkward to be all, "Lookit me and my wit," especially when I'm really not sure that I am that witty... but this is the closest word to describe my sense of humor.

X- Xenophile
This word was suggested by my friend Becky - it means someone who loves foreign cultures, and I do. I'm fascinated by other cultures and languages and foods and customs, and I wish I could just travel all over the world and live in all these different countries for a couple years at a time and learn about them.
(Honorable mention goes to "xeric," suggested by my friend Caitlin. She informed me it meant "requiring little moisture" and asked how much water I drank. Heh. Although I do stay pretty hydrated throughout the day, I almost used it just because it was an awesome word.)

Y- Yankee
Suggested by Caitlin - and it'll work. Although I grew up in the Midwest, which isn't exactly "Yankee" area, I have wanted to live in the northeast for as long as I can remember. One of these days I'll finally make it there! And although I'm delighted to be living with my friends in South Carolina at the moment, I certainly do not belong in the south for long.

Z- Zealous
Though I am a pretty laidback person, there are some things I get really enthusiastic about. I'm very passionate about art, about my faith, about introversion (lately)... and when I do get passionate about something, that sometimes tends to kind of take over my life for awhile as I pour all my energy into it.

Well! Phew! There are 26 facts about me. And now I am thoroughly tired of typing, so this blog is going to end kind of abruptl