I am...

Note: This is an exercise I did with advisees when I was a teacher; I got it from some advisor activity book. The idea was for students to take the phrase "I am..." and complete it for themselves as many times as possible in a minute. Then they would share (or not) their entries with the group. In this way, they would be able to see how much they had in common with other students, as well as pick out the qualities that made them unique. It never worked incredibly well with cynical teens, but I continue to think that it's an interesting exercise. So I figured I'd try it as a way to introduce myself, though I'm allowing myself more than a minute.

I am...

• a lesbian
• a mother
• a wife (in Canada, if not in the US)
• a woman
• a feminist
• liberal
• very liberal
• pretty much a socialist, really
• smart, intelligent, bright
• funny, in an understated way
• creative, especially with little arts and crafts projects
  
• well-educated
• well-educated about the various trains that live on the Island of Sodor
• someone who watches more TV than she would like
• someone who lets her kid watch more TV than she would like
• someone who despises most reality TV
• angered by and afraid of the Bush administration
• bad at keeping plants alive
• good at keeping pets alive (although we are without any right now)
• nurturing
• kind
• sensitive
• easily hurt by criticism, even when it's not directed at me
• prone to taking things way too personally
• a fan of fountain pens
• an avid reader of science fiction and fantasy
• procrastinating, instead of working on that paper...