Ten Things meme

[cjsmith]

Why is it that when I read about things others have done and I have not, I jump to the conclusion that I'm somehow more boring? After all, if I think hard about it, I probably could come up with ten things of my own. (I don't need y'all to come telling me how fascinating my life is; I mean, you can if you want, but it's not necessary.) Would I really have to match *everyone's* most quirky experiences to think of myself as interesting?

I'm also envious of some of the things. Wish I could travel more, wish I had more nifty skills, and DAMN but I miss running and hiking and backpacking. Most of all, I miss being able to think "I could do that some day."

Comments

[dobledorje.livejournal.com]

I know how you feel... at the same time some completely trivial things would still fit the bill. I could say going to school in Mexico is something I've done that most readers haven't done, but it really is nothing special.

I think only people who want to brag do that meme ;)

[firecat]

I'm having envy and "I'm boring" issues over the 10 things meme, too.

[tenacious-snail.livejournal.com]

I'm jealous of the travel things that I see others posting. I'm actually thinking of doing the "ten things you've probably done that I haven't" variation that I have seen.

[lrc.livejournal.com]

One thing is that a lot of cool things people do, they do in a group with other people, so it doesn't sound so unique. Flying? You know lots of pilots, who have done many things you haven't. You probably know a lot more MIT grads than most people. I know a lot more race drivers than most people.

One of my biggest accomplishments is taking 5th in the 25 hour enduro, but right off the bat, the other four drivers on my team did that. Though I was the one who ran the team.

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've always thought of myself as fairly unique, and I keep intending to do the same meme and everytime I'm thinking about it, I can't come up with ten things. They've got to be in my past somewhere. :-)

[davidlevine]

I was feeling pretty mundane and unadventurous too -- most of my friends' Ten Things lists involved celebrities, life-threatening adventures, or both. But when I thought about it, I did manage to come up with ten things that most of my friends probably haven't done. Note that just because other people haven't done it doesn't make it a brag -- it's just unique.

Part of the trick is making the description short enough to be intriguing. Too many of the lists I've seen go into too much detail, which spoils the joke.

[kimatha.livejournal.com]

Speaking of running and backpacking and hiking, how's that full frontal assault going?

(I could only think about three cool things for this meme. And some uncool ones, like getting a boil in my butt cleavage, and then having to get it lanced. And I only mention this here because I know you appreciate disgusting things.)

[allanh.livejournal.com]

CJ, you're just going to have to trust me on this one: NONE of the people in my circle of friends are boring in the slightest. This includes you. (Ask Jen & Joe if you don't believe me.)

It helped me to build my list not by saying to myself "what I have done that others haven't?", but rather, "What are some of the things that make me a unique [and weird] individual?" That made the exercise incredibly easy all of a sudden.

In fact, it made the exercise SO easy, that I found I didn't stop until I'd had 21 things written down ... and in the context of "What makes Allan so WEIRD, anyway?", I decided they all should stay on the list.

why not?

[irascignavojo.livejournal.com]

> Most of all, I miss being able to think "I could do that some day."

Why shouldn't you?