The One on Valentine's Day.

You know, even when almost everything in your life is near or completely perfect, some days can still suck. I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself today. This doesn't happen a lot to me anymore, so I'm doing my best to push feeling like crap aside and just get on with the day. There really isn't much I can complain about; like I said, things are practically perfect.

There's just one thing: Valentine's Day. I've never been into it. I've never liked it. I've always thought it's ridiculously overrated. And it makes me feel sorry for myself, apparently. It's easy for people with a Valentine to love Valentine's Day, isn't it? And I suppose that's the only reason I don't like it. Because I don't have a Valentine. It's not bitterness; it's just... bummed-outedness. This all sounds horribly whiny, I know. And give it a couple of hours, I'm sure I'll forget it even is Valentine's Day.

I've decided, though, to turn this into a positive post and, in lieu of Valentine's Day, elaborate on something that I do hold very near and dear to my heart.

Do you know about the Five Love Languages? I studied it very thoroughly at BYU-Idaho in 2007 in my Interpersonal Communication class and eventually wrote a lengthy essay about the theories and the history of it.

It's a fascinating break-down of the human heart and how different each and every one of us are. Of the countless ways we can show love to one another, there are five key categories, or five love languages, proved to be universal and comprehensive - everyone has a love language. And we all identify with one of them: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch.

With my fascination and study of this "theory" comes an understanding of where most people stand in their language. I'm able to observe those I am close to and know, more often than not, what love language they speak.

When I was at BYU-Idaho, I took the Love Language Assessment in my Interpersonal Communication class. I remember my results sitting very evenly on Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, and Physical Touch. Quality Time and Words of Affirmation had the fewest points. I knew that had changed very drastically in the last four years, so I went ahead and took the assessment again today. Not only had they changed, but two of those previous top three languages from 2007 were almost non-existent in my results. Instead, Words of Affirmation (12 points) took the cake, with Quality Time (10 points) falling right behind; Physical Touch, 5 points; Acts of Service, 3 points; and Receiving Gifts, 0 points. I had a feeling Words of Affirmation and Quality Time would be up there, but I didn't imagine that it would blow the rest of them out of the water.

It's amazing to me that people can change that much in a matter of years. I'd like to take it again in another four of five years and see if anything has changed. I encourage everyone to go find out what their Love Language is. It's actually really good for you, because it all kind of makes sense after you do take it. Stepping back and observing your day-to-day life with that language in mind actually offers a lot of insight into feelings and reactions to situations.

I get to look really, REALLY gross in A Tale of Two Cities. I think this even trumps Urinetown. Picture this: ten-plus years from now, I've let myself go COMPLETELY and I roll around in dirt sometimes. Here's a little taste, but this is a super toned-down version:
We were able to do our first dress rehearsal on Saturday, and I was actually really surprised at how free I felt. With the costume and character and the set and props and lights combined, I feel unlimited. I get to make whatever gross faces I want; I don't have to sing every note absolutely beautifully; and I get to portray one of the greatest literary villains of all time. Pretty empowering. (Now, have you gotten your tickets yet?) I am sooooooooo anxious to see how audiences react to the show as a whole. I really do think it's going to blow people's minds. Everything about it: the cast, the direction, the set, the costumes, the music, the STORY. I cannot wait.

I've started a 10-Pound Challenge with friends in the cast. I love having something like that to kick me in the butt to get me going. However, I ate lots of goodies this weekend, so any progress I thought I'd made last week is pretty much null and void. I still have 10 to go. This week, I've decided, will be perfect. No goodies, no extra snacks, working out extra when there's time. Because if I'm going to talk about finishing this, I need to finish it. I want to finish it. And I will finish it. I will get there.

And when I get there, I'll start a new journey... one that I can't even guess right now. Knowing that more adventures like this one are around the corner is an absolutely liberating feeling and, quite possibly, the best feeling in the world.