52 Lists: Week 18

As you may be able to see from this photo, I'm by no means a "powerful" person.  If you know anything about the Ravens, this was my "Ray Lewis, I will Protect this House!" stance.  Somehow, it's just a bit more intimidating when he does it.  And after today, a day where nothing terribly bad happened, but a day where I felt powerless nonetheless, I started to think of what does make me powerful.  Or in the very least, what makes me feel powerful.  Not in an intense, violent sort of way.  But in a "I'm in charge of my surroundings and I've got everything I need to make it through" sort of way.  

~ Being nice to people in a world where not many people are nice.  - It may sometimes seem to be a weakness, but I've always thought that being nice was a strength.  Real power is being able to influence someone's day by a kind a word or smile.

~ Knowledge - It's a bit cliche to say that knowledge is power, but learning something new that others may not know or figuring out something complex on your own, is a sure fire way to feel in control and powerful.  Needless to say, I've never felt powerful in a math classroom, but in others I certainly have.

~ Trying very hard and succeeding in being me, not someone that others are telling me to be.  I spend a lot of time listening to what others say and trying to decide if I should be more unwielding, or more direct like they are.  At the end of the day, I don't want to be them. Things may be a bit easier for them, but that's not how I was raised, so I try very hard to stray away from qualities that aren't inherently me.

~ Creativity - There's nothing better than the feeling of creating something entirely new that no one else has made before. It's a rush.  

~ Being quiet - It's a hard conversation starter, and it definitely doesn't help with meeting Prince Charming, but I find power in the quiet.  Sometimes in listening you learn more than in talking and chatting incessantly.  Also, sometimes I just need a re-charge to feel my best. Quiet is the best way to do this.

~ And because of my need for quiet, I find a lot of power in writing.  - The quiet makes me not share a lot of what's going on in my head (Newsflash, there's actually a whole little city happening up there), but I am able to get it down on paper.  Just the act of writing it down, helps me to work through things and see things more clearly.