11 things you (probably) don’t know about me.

I’ve been inspired (yes, again). This time, I read a post containing 11 things we probably didn’t know about the author of the particular blog, and thought I’d join in the fun!

There’s probably quite a number of things most people don’t know about me (except those who are really close friends and family) but here’s 11 of them.

1) Up until recently (18 months or so ago) I hated being called Nat. It reminded me of the bug, Gnat. But now I go by Nat more often than Natalie.

2) Even though I do things with my left hand 99.99999999% of the time, I can write neatly with both hands! It’s quite the party trick. People seem to be fascinated that I can write left and right handed.

3) My favourite thing to buy when on holidays is a souvenir t-shirt. Yes, one of the ones with silly slogans from wherever I’m visiting. Don’t ask why, I don’t know! I just never fail to know I need to find one to take home!

4) I’m lactose intolerant but really despise soymilk! Yes, the world is a cruel place…but lactose-free cows milk is almost as good as the real deal.

5) People assume just because I’m quiet until I get to know people that I’m overly introverted. They also get a massive surprise once I get to know them.

6) Public speaking doesn’t scare me. Neither does anything else that requires me being in front of a crowd.

7) I want to make a difference to the world. I want my legacy to be me having done something to make a difference to the lives to a group of people.

8) I can play 3 musical instruments (flute, piano & saxophone).

9) I also want to learn violin, and the first song I want to play is “Bittersweet Symphony” by The Verve.

10) When I was in primary school, I really struggled for a while to get the spelling of ‘business’ correct. Now I work in marketing! The irony there is hilarious…

11) I write. I have a project in the pipeline that’s coming along quite well. Have always been into writing for as long as I remember but until this year kept it to myself. Now I’m finding my feet in the world and finding the confidence to let it be in the spotlight (just a little bit).

So there we go! I’m quite a mixed bag really. And now you know a little more about me. Anyone brave enough to join in?

Words

They’re funny things, words. The same word can mean completely different things to different people.

Even though it’s still one word with one meaning, the ideas and beliefs that surface bring a certain depth to conversations that changes depending on who you’re talking with and the manner in which the discussion is taking place.

Over the last few days, I’ve had the same conversation with two different people. The first, was with a good friend who I regard not just as a friend, but more like family. This person is someone who I’ve only met in the last 7-8 months. The second, with a long standing family friend who I personally am not all that close to, but they’re someone who has been in my life for longer than I remember.

The conversation was discussing what qualifies someone as a “writer”. Now, in theory, the two conversations should have been reasonably similar. Same subject matter and it was not a crazy, out-of-this-world subjective topic either.

In practice though, the conversations couldn’t have been more different! The varying beliefs and ideas that came up made it seem like I have had two completely different conversations!

The definition of ‘writer’ is relatively clear-cut. It’s not one of the more ambiguous words in the English language, but having discussed it with two different people made me realise just how much personal beliefs and ideas can alter and direct a conversation.

Thinking over this idea, it came to my attention that this could also be how many disagreements happen, even between friends. Personal ideas and how what certain words mean to each individual could potentially cause upsets if something is taken to mean something it wasn’t said to mean.

Living in a world full of individuals, I believe that we’ll always have different words meaning slightly different things, but I also believe this is a good thing because it forces us to look at something from a view other than our own.

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