Ten Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Me

  1. When I was a freshman in college, I won a karaoke contest by singing "...Baby One More Time," by Britney Spears. I grew up convincing myself that I wasn't a good singer unless I sounded exactly like the person whose song I was singing, a talent which later helped me greatly when I started dabbling in voice acting, so I had a four octave range that allowed me to reach the super low notes Britney was known for and the high ones singers like Mariah Carey likes to belt. I started singing, making my voice sound just like Britney, and my RA jumped up from his front row seat and screamed, "THAT'S MY RESIDENT!" After I won, he and a bunch of others from my dorm made me sing a few more of her songs down in the commons for fun. One of my favorite college memories.
  2. Drinking too much plain water gives me acid reflux. Crazy, right? Same thing happens to my mother, too.
  3. I have read "Watership Down" by Richard Adams more times than I can even count. There was a time when I was reading it once every summer but I've been so busy reading books for other people these past few years, it's fallen to the wayside. I was forced to read it in eight grade and I hated it. Some years later, for whatever reason, I picked it up again and decided to give it another chance. This time, I loved it. So much so, in fact, that it became a yearly tradition to read it. Each time through, I picked up new nuances and themes. A sweet friend of mine and fellow writer once compared my writing style to that of Mr. Adams, and it was truly one of the best compliments I could have ever been given.
  4. Nerd alert! I prefer Marvel over DC any day, but my favorite caped crusader is Batman. Even as a child, I was more drawn to Bats' story than any other superhero out there, and I can't quite put my finger on the reason why, even to this day. Yes, it's tragic, but others have had just as heartbreaking beginnings as he has, some even worse. Many have had lives that were wrought with tragedy and chaos, reasons to love them and cheer them on, but Batman has always been my guy, followed closely by Wolverine. I have a thing for tortured souls, apparently. coughLokicough
  5. My biggest fear is drowning. Like, it's to the point where I have a hard time watching the end of Titanic without hyperventilating, and I sure as heck can't watch movies like Poseidon. I go into a full blown panic attack. It's ridiculous.
  6. Don't ask me who got me into this habit, but one of my favorite indulgences is a big glass of ice cold milk (which I can't drink anymore. Getting older is so much fun.) and molasses. So. Much. Yum. Don't judge me. You know you have weird food things, too.
  7. When I was a kid, and we're talking like five or six, I was often told that I used words that were too big for me even though I was using them correctly. It made me very self-conscious about the way I spoke and to whom I was speaking. There were times growing up that I would "dumb down" my sentences so I didn't sound like a pompous know-it-all. Sounds arrogant, but it's true. Along the same vein, my third grade teacher told me that my stories were "too wordy." When I saw her again a couple of years ago and told her I was now an author, she simply grinned and said, "I believe it."
  8. Apparently I'm related to Mandy Moore. You know, the woman who makes you cry every week on This Is Us? Yeah, she's like my third cousin twice removed or something. I don't even know. It's distant, but we're related.
  9. I can't get through Frozen without crying. Even after five years, if I am watching this movie alone, I will cry like a baby. I relate to Elsa on such an emotional level. As a person who has struggled with anxiety and depression for the majority of my life, her whole, "Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know," motto hit me hard. Her whole freaking life hit me hard. Take away the ice powers and the isolation she deals with growing up and as an adult...it just kills me every single time. I feel it to my bones, guys. I need to see the Broadway show. Like, if there is one thing on my bucket list that I can check off before the ticking time bag behind my heart goes off, THAT has to be it!
  10. Call me weird, but I don't really have a favorite color. I love anything jewel-toned - those rich, deep colors, teal especially, but no real favorite. What can I say? I have rich taste.

What about you? What is one thing most people don't know about you?