Inspired by Slice of Lisa’s 3 Things post structure from last year, I am going to write 5 Things lists on each of the days with 5 in them. Today I’m going to start with: 5 Things You Need to Know About Me.

1. I am a fierce advocate for the underdog. You can shit on me all you want—I’ll probably take it. But…if you mess with someone with disabilities, someone who is othered, someone with a lack of power… I will not hesitate to give you the business. And chances are, I will hold that grudge against you for a lifetime. I am compassionate by nature—but not for bullies.
2. I am an extroverted introvert. People think I am the life of the party. I’m not. It’s all a lie. I put on a show. An evening of peopling drains my social battery for a week. I actually have terrible social anxiety and push myself through it to my own detriment. I will make plans with you today. But next week’s Karyn doesn’t know what today’s Karyn was thinking. She will cancel on you.
3. I am an avid reader. When I was a kid, I struggled with reading. Well…teachers thought I did. Remember when there were reading groups like the eagles, red birds, and buzzards? I was a buzzard. But it wasn’t because I COULDN’T read, I just didn’t WANT to read the boring stuff I was given in school. So I just didn’t. That led my teachers to think I didn’t have the ability. But, actually, I was reading books WAY above my reading level that I had checkout at the Chicago Public Library. I fell in love with reading at the library and probably checked out thousands of books as a kid.
4. I’m a crazy fast thinker. I process things at the speed of light. I listen to books and podcasts at 2.0-2.5x speed. Asking me my audio speed is how my doctor determines if my ADHD meds are working. While you are still naming your document and brainstorming an outline, I’ve already designed a structure complete with tabs, a hyperlinked table of contents, tables and pie charts imported from a Google Form that dumped into a Google Sheet that pumped out an Autocrat document that was automatically sent to the replier and filed by date in a folder dedicated to this school year. Now, I get to spend 3 business days executing it because hyper-fixation is my jam. It’s a blessing and a curse. My brain is always 10 steps ahead and I think everyone is there with me. But they are sometimes still putting on their shoes. I’ve learned to try to slow down and let people catch up. It’s hard.
5. I. Hate. Change. Transitions are hard for me. I will fight them to the death if they weren’t self-initiated. I remember when my husband worked some IT magic long ago with our TV at our old house. We no longer used the remote control for it, but an iPod Touch. I nearly had a meltdown crying about it. Of course I knew HOW to work an iPod. The problem was I didn’t WANT to learn how to work an iPod for THIS specific task. Then there was the time that my old work ordered me a brand new amazing computer that I refused to use because I just couldn’t bring myself to set it up.

So…what are some things I should know about you? Anything you want to share?

I am writing for the 19th annual Slice of Life challenge presented by Two Writing Teachers.