First Impressions

Well hello. My name is Colleen – a name that I love because it’s Irish, and don’t really love because while your name probably means something like noble, to excel, or little fire, mine simply means girl.  Not a whole lot to live up to.

I grew up in western New York – a part of the state that pretty much everyone else in the country seems not to know exists. My hometown is known for its antique shops, hosting the county fair, and reenacting the civil war every September.

I love open fields, don’t mind getting stuck behind tractors and Amish buggies, and appreciate the smell of manure.

I graduated from college in December of 2012 with degrees in English and Communications.  Feel free to make a joke about studying to be unemployed here. I’ve been a full-time nanny and part-time freelance copy editor for the last four years. But time has a way of going on, even if you didn’t ask it to, the little ones are in school now, and I’m attempting to make the switch to full-time freelance copy editor and part-time nanny.

I not only believe in Jesus; I love Him dearly.  I am forgiven by His grace, restored by His love, and overwhelmed by His beauty.

I am daughter, little sister, wife, auntie, and friend.

If I just met you, I can’t think of a single thing to say.  If I’ve known you my whole life, I rarely stop talking.  If I can make you laugh, today was worth it.

If it’s irrelevant I’ll freely give my opinion, and maybe, just maybe, argue.  If it’s of real importance I’ll stay silent because I hate confrontation almost as much as I hate tea, and I hate tea almost as much as I hate hurting someone else.

If being awkward was basketball, I’d be Michael Jordan.  If overthinking pretty much everything was the Olympics, I’d be Michael Phelps.

“Eclectic” is a nice vague way to describe my taste (for lack of a better word).

My favorite authors are Jane Austen (please don’t ask how many times I’ve read Pride and Prejudice), Victor Hugo, J.R.R. Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis.  Call me antisocial if you like, but I prefer an evening with any one of them to a night out on the town.

I am sometimes disappointed by the singing and choreography that doesn’t exist in real life. My love of musicals extends from Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera to Hamilton to High School Musical 3 and Camp Rock 2.  That’s probably heretical, but that’s the way it is.

I was raised on Buffalo Bills football and wouldn’t trade each heartbroken season for anything – unless, of course, that anything was a super bowl.  But in all seriousness, I love the hope and potential that a brand new season brings.  I love the sound of my dad yelling at the refs from his recliner.  I love perfect spirals, going for it on fourth down, quarterbacks blocking for their running backs, creative touch down celebrations, the roar of the crowd, players who do great things on and off the field, Aaron Rodgers State Farm commercials, and when the Patriots lose.

I could quote Leap Year word for word.  The same could probably be said for Remember the Titans, The Return of the King, Cars, and Dark Knight Rises. I told you, eclectic.

Right now I’m most likely listening to Needtobreathe, The Civil Wars, or a Hans Zimmer soundtrack.  Or there’s a slight chance I’m listening to Justin Bieber.  The only guarantee is that I am listening to something.

I’ve been drinking coffee since seventh grade (which I like to blame for stunting my growth).  I prefer cheese to chocolate and hand-picked wildflowers to perfect roses.

I like big jewelry, bright clothes, awkward sweaters, and Toms.  I’ve also been known to wear fake glasses.  Call me hipster if you’d like, you won’t be the only one.

Now that we’re slightly acquainted, feel free to stick around for a while.  And by stick around for a while, I mean read more of my whimsical, paradoxical, and possibly crazy ideas about everything.

‹ Burden Bearer

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