Secrets

Tomorrow night I'm going to be talking with a group of college students about secrets.

All week long, I've been thinking about my own secrets, embarrassing habits and guilty pleasures. I've kept lots of secrets in my lifetime. Some are minor, some are of more consequence. In the interest of being a more truthful and open person, here are some of my secrets for the world to know:

1. I bite my fingernails when I'm bored. 
2. I like flipping through fashion and entertainment magazines.
3. I hate mint. Mint chip ice cream, candy canes, minty toothpaste...it all makes me gag.
4. I wish I had more slender legs.
5. I have an irrational fear of being late for meetings and appointments. If I'm even a few minutes late, I feel like a failure.
6. I sing in the shower. More often than not, I sing 80's love ballads.
7. When I lose interest in a conversation, I start fantasizing about being somewhere else.
8. I usually forget to use my reusable grocery bags, and end up wasting lots of paper and plastic.
9. I get annoyed with people who seem to care more about environmental issues or animal rights than about human problems.
10. I cry during iPhone FaceTime commercials. Even ones I've seen before.
11. I hate N.P.R. and any other radio stations that don't play music.
12. If I could eat without caloric consequence, I would eat french fries and bacon guacamole cheeseburgers on a regular basis.
13. I don't brush my hair. I don't even own a hairbrush.
14. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by large groups of people, and need to hide in a bathroom for a few minutes to get some space.
15. I am constantly in search of the perfect pair of jeans. Even when I find a good pair, there's still a nagging voice inside me saying there's an even better one out there somewhere.