Who Am I?

One question.

Three words.

This used to seem like a simple question.

I am Shelby Hild.

But this question composed of three simple words is quite complex.

I was bound to my name from the moment it was set in ink on my birth certificate those 23 years ago, but does my name make me?

No.

Is who I am based on the easily visible things about me? Like my blue eyes, my dark blonde hair, my braces-straightened teeth, or even the small mole on my nose?

Is who I am perhaps created by the current facts, the numbers that doctors record about me? Or just numbers in general?

Age: 23

Height: 5’7”

Weight: 160 lbs (yes, that makes my BMI 25.1)

Siblings: 3

Pets (that are specifically mine): 1

Cities lived in: 3

States visited: 12

Blankets: 10

Jobs: 4

Books read last year: 113

Lucky numbers: 3, 5 (and any multiple of those)

Favorite number: 15

Instruments playable: 1.5

Years in a band: 11

Year in marching band: 8

Best Friends: 2

Medical Issues: 4 (Allergies, Eczema, PCOS, and Strabismus-- this one isn't really a big deal anymore after two surgeries to help it)

Average amount of weekly words written: NA

In this journey to becoming a better me, I'm hoping to finally decipher who I am. Whether numbers are actually a key ingredient in the equation, I don't know.

There are two ways of improvement that seem to be the easiest to grasp at this point in my growing year: health and writing.

The first, health, is rather self-explanatory. I'm going to start taking care of my health by working out and watching what I eat.

Each month, I'll post my progress on that with weight and such. I plan to explain what is helping me through and keep my motivation up. Maybe even recipes I've come across or good workouts or something.

For writing, this blog on its own will be helpful. It will keep me writing something at least weekly. After I've finished my first draft of my current WIP, I'll start working on short stories with prompts. My plan is to post these prompts on here with my posts. I'll also post the amount of words I've written each week for everything that isn't this blog.

It is a long road I'm starting on. Despite knowing as I work on clawing my way out of this hole I may lose my grip, I might find a loose root that drops me deeper into the hole, I will get out of it.

Although this New Year’s resolution is large, I'm making these plans and I'm sticking to them.