I can't be THAT girl, can I?

I'll admit: I cry in movies all the time. There's just something about a touching story that really gets to me. My boyfriend also says I'm really emotional. He may be right, I can't hold a deep conversation without bursting out into tears (believe it or not, I cried in the middle of Hall of Fame restaurant because I missed home so much). While I admit that my inability to hold a conversation without breaking down has it's perks, I never want to be considered that "emotional girl." Lets be real, no one wants to be that girl. That girl cries all the time, overreacts to every situation and wears her heart on her sleeve. To be fair, bits and pieces of that girl are part of my personality, but sheesh, I can't be her completely, can I?

Despite my better judgment, I decided to take the "emotional literacy quiz" . The questions called for simple answers, but I found myself trying to change the answers. Again, I cant be that girl! But going through the questions, all my responses were "sometimes" or "often" and I began to have an epiphany. Maybe I am more emotional than I really want to admit. Maybe I really am that girl.

According to Family Links being emotionally literate means knowing/managing your own emotions, motivating ourselves, and recognizing emotions in other people. When put that way, it doesn't sound too bad to be literate after all. I think those characteristics make me the person I am. I pride myself on the ability to recognize when my friends are upset and doing what I can to ease their pain. Likewise, I consider myself highly motivated when I am interested in a subject. The only characteristic I think needs improvement would be managing my emotions. I often let my anger, frustration and bitterness take over and I realize that this is damaging to myself and those around me.

The rest of this blog will explore my progress over a week's time as I do my best to become more emotionally literate. I will pay closer attention to my own feelings and document them. At the end of the week (on March 29th) I will give myself a fair assessment and decide whether or not I really am emotionally literate, and therefore THAT girl.