I just finished Shonda Rhimes’ Year of Yes and she has a chapter where she goes on about women not being able to take a compliment, and how we should own our talents, and not shy away from them for fear of being seen as arrogant.

Every day I tell my children how amazing they are. I give them affirmations to say in the mirror. I want them to know they are incredible. They can do anything, and they are great.

So why don’t we believe those things about ourselves?

This weekend I’m celebrating my 31st birthday and I’ve decided to give myself a gift. I’m going to own my blessings. It’s going to feel a little uncomfortable. It’s going to be unusual, but I’m going to lay it out there and hit publish with reckless abandon.

Ok here we go.

My name is Jennifer. I am a devoted wife and mother. I would fight for my family. My husband my kids– They are my everything. Beyond my family, I put heart into my life.

My hair? It’s awesome. People tell me my smile is contagious. My joy–infectious.

I am unapologetically a big dreamer. Like, HUGE. My husband calls me “whimsical”… But says it like it’s a bad word. I take it as a compliment.

I can do anything.

I’m also a hard worker. I try to focus and work at things I love. This makes my work feel more like play and even when I’m working incredibly hard it doesn’t feel like I am.

Maybe the name “Jennifer” mean luck in some other language. I am INCREDIBLY lucky. Though I believe luck is when preparation meets opportunity. I still feel like I’m insanely lucky. But I also don’t doubt God’s hand in my life. I’m extremely blessed and I feel lucky to have discovered the talents He blessed me with early in life and use those throughout.

I believe anything is possible and I am not easily discouraged. I attract positivity and good things come to me.

Learning is my life’s mission. I love to learn and soak up knowledge like air. I have a desire to learn so much. From new languages, history, culture, and music–I will spend the rest of my life learning new things and yet never try to give the illusion of “knowing it all.”

Writing is a passion. I can always tell when I’m going to write something great because it’s preceded by a jittery and burning feeling I can’t contain. I love that feeling. My best work comes when I sit down and write in that very moment. I am a good storyteller. My stories can go beyond type on a screen or piece of paper using my photographs and video. I love it, and I am good at it. Or maybe I am good at it because I love it.

I also love people–Meeting new people, befriending people, talking to people, laughing with people and learning about people. I believe we all have so much to learn from one another.

Sometimes I feel like I’ve hit the peek of my success but then a voice inside reminds me that’s nowhere near the case. I’m just getting started.

I did it. It took me three days to write those short paragraphs. I was cringing throughout and after every compliment I was started to type a flaw to counter my self-praise. Even now I want to explain that I’m not vain and I know I’m not perfect. But I’m not going to. Today I’m going to leave it as that because it’s the anniversary of my birth and a much-needed gift to myself.

On to make this year awesome.

Tags: birthday, books