I Am Confident That…

I have confidence in sunshine
I have confidence in rain
I have confidence that spring will come again
Besides which you see I have confidence in me…
- Julie Andrews “I Have Confidence” from The Sound of Music

Okay – let’s admit this to ourselves: Most blogs in the internet vapor are full either funny/sarcastic/pop culture/pseudo-intellectual morsels or emo/depressive/cynical pieces of crap.

While we have the good and the bad, there is one thing that seems to be missing – honest to goodness self-affirmation. Most bloggers (including yours truly) are either bitching/moaning or oohing/ahhing over everyone and everything else. But if you take a step in the direction of “Hey, my life doesn’t suck that much” or “Damn, I’m good at some things,” you all of sudden become full of yourself and one of the Sissy Lala’s that live with your head in the sand.

Well damn it! NO MORE…at least here at MGF Blog. At least for the next week.

Becoming a better person not only means you need to accept your faults – but your strengths as well. We concentrate of trying to “fix” ourselves. The multi-million dollar self-help book industry proves that. But you know what happens when you try to fix things by yourself, right? Most of the time you get the equivalent of having an engine block sitting in your bathtub.

Kind of red-neckish…and it never really solves the problem.

So this week, I am going to write about the things I think I’m good at. In the last few months, I’ve started to notice that my own personal suckage isn’t as bad as I think it is. In fact, I’ve discovered that some of the little things lead to bigger and important things. And it’s kind of nice.

So call me egotistical. Call me self-centered. But like Maria Von Trapp, I’m here to sing out that I am confident…

…THAT MY LIFE WILL NEVER BE A COMPLETE FAILURE

If my life were reduced to a dossier, reading the first vital stats should have doomed me: No college degree, the body of the Michelin Tire Guy, pulling down a paycheck just large enough to keep me living, no sight of any children in my early 30’s, and no great American novel in my publishing sights.

Okay, I’d be doomed if I dwelled on it.

Instead, I’m really busy help build a business at a job I enjoy and am really good at. I’ve traveled to London (THREE TIMES!), Paris, New Orleans, Boston, Toronto, Dallas, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. I got married at my childhood church. I give really good one-line zingers. The summer before my freshman year of high school, I went to drama camp. I can do Ana Caban’s Pilates for Beginners without pulling a hip. I get to work and train the most talented teenagers our future has to offer as a speech coach. When I think something is REALLY funny, I snort. My female friends tell me I’m a snappy dresser. I am the aunt to two adorable little nephews. I live in a really cute house. I paid off my car last May. I have my health. I have an adoring husband…

…I’m sorry…what were we talking about?

Ah yes, non-failure. With as many blessings and experiences I’ve had so far in my life – how can I be sad that I’m not pulling down six figures or don’t have super-model looks. If my time were short and ended in a few weeks, I can’t really say I’m a failure.

I’m not going say I’ve lived every single minute with vim and vigor. No one can be THAT dedicated…it’s almost inhuman. However, I know that when I look back at all of the things I have done, I’m proud of everything. If you’ve ever played kick ball, you know demolishing a “baby bouncy” is still a thrill. And don’t you lie to yourself about it.

Failure, by my standards, is this grey, nebulous thing of myth. As long as I can own my experiences and walk around the world just wanting to live. I’ll be fine.

To steal and bastardize from Julius Caesar: I’m coming, I’m seeing, I’m conquering.