Assignment 8- Kalin Combs

Fears: bugs, blood, never being successful in my future career, dying, not traveling enough, not taking enough risks in life, being a bad parent, having an unhappy marriage, having kids that aren't smart or kind, college
Annoyances: when people have strong beliefs but no logic to support them (people who support the Confederate flag, for example), people with no motivation who complain about their lack of accomplishments
Accomplishments: grades, ACT score, overcoming personal struggles, decorating my first wedding cake for commission, staying close with my best friends since 7th grade
Confusions: why people would ever abuse animals or children, why the wage gap exists, why people can speak such hateful and cruel and discriminatory things about others and not even care, why anyone would support Donald Trump.
Sorrows: divorced parents, history of drug abuse and alcoholism in my family, the fact that I'm a junior with braces, how naive I used to be
Dreams: be a millionaire, find a career I'm truly passionate about, open a bakery or restaurant, have a food blog and get famous, raise amazing children
Idiosyncrasies: picky eater, obsessive foodie and coffee lover
Risks: go skydiving, bungee jumping, taking more risks in general (want), flying solo to New Jersey in 2014 (did)
Beloved Possessions: my phone (now), my stuffed animals (then)
Problems: too competitive, self-critical, taking things too personally

I've always kind of been a careful person, and I've always said I want to start taking more risks. Ironically, I consider myself quite an adrenaline junkie, but it's the everyday risks that I need to learn to get in control of--confronting others when they hurt me, speaking up in class, talking to new people. Little by little I'm taking more of those tiny steps every day; mainly I'm learning to speak up in class more and that talking to new people doesn't have to be scary. This year I've even made friends in an elective class where I didn't know a single person at the beginning of the year, and that's something I've never done before. I know it seems small, but I can feel this making big changes in my life. When I go to college, I don't want to be too shy to meet new people and end up lonely and introverted. I feel like an extrovert trapped inside a shy person's body and that's something I want to change about my life. One day, I'd love to be the kind of person who's comfortable approaching and talking to anyone, anywhere. I'm getting closer every day.