My Spirit Animal

If you asked me as a child what animal I would be if I could be any animal... my usual response would be something like a tiger or a monkey. I never really felt a connection with these animals, I just thought they were furry and cute.

Then one day last summer it hit me.

Tim has tagged it for years...
if I get *super* excited over something (I mean squeaky-voice, fast-talking, scampering-around excited!), Tim has been known to "chiku!" at me. For a while I paid no attention. Then one day...I asked. It was his impersonation of my spirit animal.

A raccoon? A chipmunk? A hamster?
I knew it wasn't a meerkat, because my spirit animal *would not* spend all day digging in the dirt!

No... it was a squirrel. A rodent. I was slightly offended.

Around the same I was reading Teach with Your Strengths by Rosanne Liesveld and Jo Ann Miller (a *great* book...obviously geared for teachers...but it could be enjoyed by anyone who wants to utilize their personal strengths and natural talents in life/work!)

They encourage you to analyze your top 5 innate strengths and learn how to further integrate those into your daily life. My personality evaluation came back with the top 5 strengths being (in this order): Input, Harmony, Learner, Intellection, Relator.

Self-Analysis...

• Input - I like input! I like to collect it, gather it, organize it, keep it, and have access to it. I thrive on input! My philosophy for years and years has been ~ if I know where to get the information then I don't need to *know* the information. I live by this.

• Harmony/Relator - If you know me, this is no surprise. I am, after all, a middle-child. I try to live in harmony...with myself, others, the world, and the universe. I like passion, but I am uncomfortable by hostility and conflict.

• Learner/Intellection - I like to think I'm continually learning and bettering myself. I try anyway. I'm very interested in learning about learning...the brain!!
  

Ok...so I agree that I'm all of those things. But a squirrel?!? Was I ready to admit I was a squirrel?

Well, I'm long and lean. So is a squirrel.
I like to hoard. So does a squirrel.
I make "nests." As do squirrels.
Squirrels are clever. Do I even need to say it?
Squirrels are planners. I live by my calendar.
Squirrels are feisty foragers. I can be pretty *feisty.*
Squirrels do not usually eat much meat. I'm a vegetarian.
I'm *a little* chirpy when I get excited, I admit.

Hmm....maybe squirrels aren't so nutty.

"Emily," I said, "you are absolutely, without a doubt, a squirrel!"

A self-portrait.

Tim is an owl. Other owls know. They single Tim out in crowds of people and stare directly at him...doing the whole head-bob and all. It's as if they're saying, "Hello, friend. Why do you look so funny? Where are your feathers and wings?"

I think Tim's spirit animal would eat my spirit animal. Is that bad?

Hey... we may not be the top of the food chain, but we're survivors! What's your spirit animal?