In our series of self-appreciation, next up we have Brahnamin. I tried to find something in your fav color that wasn’t all girly. I hope you enjoy the waterfall. Apparently, wordpress doesn’t let you bold a plus sign… I tried to bold them myself to no avail.
Here’s Brahnamin:
I’ve been debating on whether to leave a comment on this thread . . . but I really dig it and I really love the idea of self-appreciation . . . not by way of self congratulation, as it so often becomes, but as you are using it here, as a tool to really take stock of yourself, find the positive, deal with the negative, and most of all just to accept that you are you.
To be able to decide that you are a total dork and that you think that is totally cool.
(BTW – I’m fine with you publishing this as a post if you’d like to).
So, yeah – here goes ::
+ My favorite color is blue. I thought 8 1/2 years in prison would make me come to hate the color, but as it turns out, not so much.
+ I don’t often look people in the eye in casual passing (that is something that did stick from prison) but in one on one conversation I always look people in the eyes, and if I can get away with it, I look deeply. This disturbs some people, but more often than not seems to reassure or intrigue them. That’s not why I do it, though. I do it because unguarded moments are rare and I like to catch people in them whenever I can.
+ I am not proud of the crimes I committed or the hurt they caused. I am proud of surviving prison and coming out a better man than I went in.
+ Nevertheless, I sometimes mourn my childhood, or perhaps my innocence. They did not die together, but I miss them both all the same. Not that I’d have the patience for either one right now, mind, but as memories they are favorite friends.
+ I like it that after two years of living anonymously on the internet I am finally at peace with who I am and what I’ve done in this life and even where I’m going with it all. We are only as weak as our deepest secrets. That’s why I regularly post mine.
+ I am proud of the fact that the fat kid who used to wear a t-shirt in the swimming pool to try to hide his boy-boobs has grown up into a man who isn’t afraid to post his “before” pictures on the web for the weird wide world to see.
+ I’m also right fond of all the hair I’ve managed to grow. My wife wishes it were otherwise and wears makeup in retaliation. 
+ I feed my kids well, make sure they have time to play, and teach them as much as I can about making good choices in life. That they won’t always do so is irrelevant. That’s part of growing and living. It is enough that I give them the tools to use when they want to.
Angry Gray Rainbows 