Dazed and Confused

About

I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, specifically Tacoma WA, fondly referred to as Grit City. Although, I have lived in other cities, Tacoma is home. For better or for worse. Even though a few movies have been filmed here, Tacoma is probably best known for serial killer, Ted Bundy. However, if you are a sports fan, Marcus Trufant of the Seattle Seahawks is also from Tacoma. I am told Marcus is a great guy…Ted not so much.

Tacoma is not a small city but also not as big as Seattle and definitely has a small-town vibe. Going out to dinner inevitably ends up being a mini-Class Reunion. This is exactly why I like to stay home. I am an introvert with social anxiety so the possibility of running into people unexpectedly is a bit of a nightmare situation for me.

To be fully transparent, you should know I have spent several years in therapy. Anxiety has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. But I believed it only presented during specific activities, like going to the dentist. However, I started to notice the tentacles of anxiety were spreading into more and more areas of my life and brain. When I had a panic attack at just the thought of leaving the house one day, I knew I needed to see a mental health professional. The funny thing about therapy is that you learn that what you thought was totally normal is in fact not anywhere close to normal. So my life has been a bit deconstructed the last few years and I am attempting to learn new ways to approach the world.

I decided to give blogging a try because I find I can better process life’s events when I write about them instead of obsessing over them. My hope is this will give me an opportunity to keep the emotional swirls in check, recall memories from a more logical place, and find the silver lining in, at times, some pretty nasty situations. Not that my entire life has been one dramatic experience after another but there have been some doozies. A ton of pretty cool stuff has happened too. At the end of the day, I tend to find the humor in most things and really…it’s all about the story.

Other Fun Facts –

• I’m short. Like really short. I am barely 5’ tall. My entire life, even when I was a young adult, people wanted to pick me up. It’s weird and I’ve never liked it.
• I am the oldest of three and the only girl. The Baby is the good one. He’s the one with the kindest heart. The Middle is the most accomplished and the most complicated. He’s Type A and I struggle to understand him. I am somewhere in between. I have achieved a few things but not as much as The Middle and I am caring but not as much as The Baby.
• I hate denim.
• Some people think I am funny…others not so much.
• I swear. A lot.
• I am pretty smart. I graduated university magna cum laude, which I am super proud of because I worked hard for that honor.
• My parents divorced when I was in high school because my mom finally decided she was done pretending she is straight. My father died several years ago and now I have two moms.
• My brothers and I are adopted. That was never really a thing until it became a thing…at least for me. Maybe I will tell you about it someday.
• I do not eat anything that lives in water.
• I believe in God AND science. The two can coexist. I am not a fan of organized religion in general and do not care what others believe or do not believe. It is personal and none of my business.
• I can drive a stick.

Anyway, like Ted and Marcus, I attended Woodrow Wilson High School and that’s where I will begin my story…fucking high school. Although graduation was 30+ years ago, the 80’s have circled back around to the present to reintroduce me to my past. Who knew that so much of the shit that happened during those high school years could influence your adulthood?

Fucking high school