I don't even like lizards, so why be a chameleon?

I started writing a race report and this came out...oops...lol. I'll get to the race report later.

To say this year has been a year of discovery would be an understatement. Remember the scene in Runaway Bride when Richard Gere tells Julia Roberts that she's 'so lost she doesn't even know what kind of eggs she likes'...(she'd been conforming to the likes of others so long she'd lost her identity). Well, I've been trying to figure out what kind of eggs I like, so to speak. I am involved in a weekly class(personal inventory) right now that involved stating your intentions for the class as you introduced yourself. I remember saying "I'm Wendy Oates, and I don't know who the heck I am, but I look forward to finding out!!"

I'm a people person to the core. I've never been real comfortable alone. I suppose I thought I was bad company despite the fact that I have oodles of friends which must mean that's  not true, right?! The problem with always trying to be with people is that you can be distracted from learning what you love...or don't...about yourself. As the layers of my chameleonic life have been sloughing away, I have been finding peace within. I've been learning to take the good with the bad. Invest where there is a possibility of return...for all involved. Appreciate the little things. Love the unlovely and try to remain unchanged in the face of unloveliness. Find a reason to smile in the face of adversity. Lastly, to love myself...not because I deserve it, but because if I don't, how can I possibly love others?

Along the way I have found out that I like being with me. I've taken myself on some solo runs, some solo shopping trips, some solo dining, and several other things. 'Smile and the world smiles with you' seems to be very true in my case. All of a sudden, I am surrounded by some of the most unique and beautiful personalities I have ever witnessed. Not only have I learned to love me, but I have learned that cookie cutter relationships (cliques) will NEVER be for me. I love diversity and those in my life who make it worth living. Now, if you'll excuse me...I'm off to discover something new....

Race report later!!