This is me. This is who I am.

"I am Grandpa Boyd's granddaughter, the spitting image of my father, and when the day is done my family's still my biggest fans. Sometimes I'm clueless and I'm clumsy, but I've got friends who love me, and they know just where I stand. It's all a part of me, and that's who I am."

This morning as I was trying to think of what to blog, my sister suggested that I write a reflective post. So I got thinking and decided to write a post about what makes me who I am.

I am...a tough country girl.

I may not be a complete tomboy, but I've always considered myself pretty tough and not much of a girly-girl. You would think that with 5 sisters, I would be a very girly-girl, but not so much. I grew up playing in the mountains and working around the "farm". With out any sons to help with the hard work around the house and farm, my dad had to call on his daughters to help him. So I grew up always working outside with my dad. I love wearing my leather gloves because they make me feel hard-core. I think I'm one of the tougher girls in my family and I've always had a little bit of a proud attitude. I'd like to think that any work guys can do, I can do too (not that I necessarily will though).

I am... independent.

It has been suggested by some that I am too independent for my own good. But I'm a 20 year-old single girl, what do you expect? I am really independent though. I think I am so independent because even though in the grand scheme of things, I am the youngest in my family, growing up, I felt like I was more of the middle child. My memories of growing up are of the oldest three grown and out of the house, so Jashley was the responsible oldest, Cortney was the spoiled youngest, and I was the middle child who just did my own thing. No one really cared too much whether I came or went, and I was alright with that. I also think that my independence is a little more engrained in me than just that though. As early as elementary school, I decided that I didn't like the lunches my mom would make for me, so I'd wake up half an hour early to make my own lunch. That's just how I've always been.

I am... a masochist.

I remember the first time my dad called me a masochist I was so offended. But now I realize how right he was, and I embrace it. I know I'm a masochist. I think it comes in part from my pride. I really, really love the satisfaction that comes from a good but painful workout. And I kill myself over my schoolwork, but again, I find it somewhat satisfying. I don't have an explanation for why I am a masochist. I just know that I am.

I am...a picky eater.

People always talk about my poor mom and how they don't know how she ever cooked for me and my sisters. But what they don't realize, is that my mom is the reason I am a picky eater. She never cooked with onions, so I don't like onions. And she never cooked spicy food, so I'm not very accustomed to spicy foods. But I am trying to broaden my horizons now. Mock me all you want.

I am... smart.

Ok, so I'm not going to pretend to be some super genius or anything. But I think that I have been labeled as being "the brains of the family". And I know why. Literacy makes kids smarter, right? Well I read a lot as a kid. And do you know why I read a lot as a kid? Because I refused to be shown up by my best friend. In 1st grade, the really good readers got to have their reading time with the 2nd graders, and Courtney Walker was one of those kids. Well I wasn't having any of that. There was no way that she was going to upstage me. So that year I worked really hard to be a good reader, and it stuck with me for the rest of forever. I also think that part of it was because of speech therapy. I was in speech therapy from age 4 to age 12, and I was always really self-conscious about it. I felt like I had to be extra smart in the classroom so that kids didn't think I had to leave everyday b/c I was dumb.

I am... Kelsey.

I say weird things like "holy snaws." I like my four-wheelers and snowmobiles. I'm a morning person. I love music and dancing. I am a sports fan. I love baking. I love Sesame Street music and Care Bears. I have a secret desire to be a beach bum/professional dumpster-diver. I am a student. And I am a Mormon. :) Take it or leave it. This is me. This is who I am.