Learning to Like It

I wasn't brave enough to do a list of things I don't like (my friend Sarah Rooftops did this in her blog and it was fascinating, and controversial.) I have lots of things I really loathe with a passion but I thought it might upset some people if my true feelings were revealed.

So I thought I'd do an uplifting list of things I used to hate or fear and now don't! (Apologies, vegetarians for that meat picture again..)

The picture brings me on to
1) Rare and scary meat. Morally, I feel if I'm going to be a carnivore I should face challenging meat. I discovered I liked black pudding, and now I can eat rare steak like Alistair. Still working on haggis.

2) Heights. I used to be a nauseous, quivering jelly at height. When I went to work in a towering castle full of spiral stairs and followed up with a build and climb scaffolding course, I found the fear gradually subsided as I was exposed to it. Now I get quite a kick out of being 'at the top'.

3) Exercise. I described in a previous blog entry how I started running. Sometimes I'm wheezy and short of breath when I run, but now I don't panic and think I'm going to die, because IT GOES AWAY. And I enjoy the running, too. It makes me feel stronger and more confident.

4) Social events. I used to always say no. As I started to trust people more, I started to enjoy the company and stop worrying about what they thought of me. I still sometimes get panicky at formal do's though, but 9 times out of 10, if I go out, I enjoy it, despite the butterfles before-hand.

And some things I'm still afraid of: Fairground Rides, Taking off and landing in a Plane, The Dark, Extreme Weather, Daddy-Long-Legs insects, the Telephone, large Birds (such as the infamous Aberdeen Seagulls.)