I feel pressure to find myself, to discover my passions and develop habits that will define me. In my imagination, I see myself stumbling upon my love of photography, or the symphony, or painting landscapes. I imagine them to be sophisticated creative attributes. I am slowly realizing, however, that me is not particularly sophisticated or creative. My interest and habits sound less good on paper, but they are already a part of me. They do not need to be discovered. They are the small habits I forget about; the daily routines, that when someone new walks into my life they raise an eyebrow or say why do you do that? They are unique, albeit weird. I want to remind myself and others not to measure up your interests and habits with what you feel they should be.

Here are just a couple of the things I have discovered make me, me.

I love drinking hot water, with a tiny bit of milk in it, but if milk is not available, just hot water is fine for me too. I have never been a big tea or coffee fan, but the warmth calms me, and I feel the water is cleansing.

I like to eat my cheese and crackers separate. I like each individual piece too much to combine them.

Tums Antacid Tablets are my comfort food. My parents used to feed them to me when I was little and call them "Calcium Candies." When I’m homesick, eating one makes me feel better.

I love bread, especially sourdough bread. My favorite snack is a piece of bread. Not toasted, and nothing on it. Just bread.

I love big open spaces. Rolling grass. I have never been to Kansas, but I think I might like it there. The big spaces are the closest I can get to the ocean in landlocked Colorado.

I love ice cream. Some of my happiest memories are eating ice cream. And it is not the situation, because I am usually alone, and in a bad mood before I get it. Strawberry and Dutch Chocolate is my new favorite combination.

I love old people, especially my grandparents. They always have fascinating things to say, and I find that usually their view on life is more accurate then mine, and they tend to have a great sense of humor, or at least be funny (even if they are not trying to be).

Looking back at this list, I am realizing that maybe I should just say I love food. :)

What makes you, you?