relevant to my interests

Challenge #7

LIST THREE (or more) THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF. They don’t have to be your favorite things, just things that you think are good. Feel free to expand as much or as little as you want.

Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it.

Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. Also, feel free to entice engagement by giving us a preview of what your post covers.

+bursts out laughing+ Oh snowflake_challenge, how did you know I needed this? I am someone who too often seeks the approval of others (and then is disappointed) when really, it's my own approval I should be striving for.

I am not sure I would have been able to do this challenge a mere two weeks ago due to bad depression/anxiety at the time, but I've got some new meds that are helping, and life is turning to the positive again. And thus:

1. I feel I'm a strong writer.

I mean general writing here - I still need practice on fiction, but heck, even my fiction is, I feel, decent! But yes, I'm always being told that I write well, and I believe it. I have a knack for writing journal entries that flow well, with good transitions from point to point.

Sometimes I do draft entries, but TBH most of mine are stream-of-consciousness so I guess my brain likes organizing material into sensible chunks. I do find myself going back to previous sections to expand on a point or tweak a sentence, but mostly, they're written from top to bottom.

2. I'm getting better at acknowledging and recognizing my achievements.

This is important! No, I'm not perfect. Yes, I still have a HECK of a lot I need to learn about people-ing and adulthood and life in general. But I've come so far in the last few years. I've consistently kept up streaming on Twitch for almost five years now. That kind of consistently showing up is unusual for me. I'm still damned proud I even STARTED streaming in the first place, let alone kept it going.

I've also been employed since September 2024. Okay, it's only part time. But folks, I hadn't worked for TWELVE YEARS due to anxiety and depression. I am damned proud of myself for (a) finding the job opening (b) applying to it (c) with a KICK-ASS cover letter (d) doing well enough in the phone interview to be offered the job (e) staying employed this long (f) and not only that, but to be singled out to work on new projects because of past performance. This is huge!

One of the things I'm also getting better on is reaching out. I just had an incident at work where I had a question about what to do on an assignment, and in the past I would have REALLY procrastinated from saying anything, but I asked with minimal hesitation. THAT IS ALSO HUGE FOR ME.

3. I love my creativity!

I've always been drawn to creativity. As a kid, I wanted to be a novelist, and I liked to draw (even though I wasn't that great at it). I tried various forms of being actively creative, but what finally stuck for me was the fiber arts. I'm slowing down with them and my output isn't what it used to be, but it still tickles me to read question threads on Ravelry, or cheer on my teammates in Nerdopolis.

I love that I'm fearless with knitting and crochet. I'll try any pattern that catches my eye, even if it's a new technique. I love that I've designed my own knitted and crocheted dolls. I was so proud of myself when I figured out how to get a doll's dress hem to stop flipping up! And PLEATS! I've knitted box pleats! Probably never again, they are a pain, but I've DONE it.... in a pattern of my own design, having never done pleats before. Fearless? YUP!

I might have more to add to this, but for now, this is good. :)