Hello, My Name Is....

"Alright, class, I want everyone to get to know each other a little better, so now we're going to go around the room and say our name, where we're from, our major, and something interesting about ourself."

Ever heard that before? I'd bet. The beginning of a new semester brings on that lovely week of syllabi and the same old "Hi, I'm Tasha. I'm an English major from Minnesota, and I'm secretly Osama bin Laden" or whatever it is I end up saying. Yeesh. I'm tired of it. I mean, the principle behind it is nice, but what does all that stuff matter, and who's going to remember it anyway?

Sometimes, I like to imagine what I would say if I really wanted to tell people who I was. It's not realistic, sure, but wouldn't we all learn so much more about each other if we had the opportunity to really tell about ourselves?

So, in honor of the new semester, here's what I would say:

Hi, guys. My name's Natasha Watts. Everyone called me Tasha up until college, when I started introducing myself as Natasha. It took me all last year to figure out that I hated doing that, because then it sounds like we're not even friends. The moral of the story is, call me Tasha. Another interesting tidbit about my name is that Natasha backwards is Ah, Satan. Eh? Ehhh? Crazy, I know.

I'm an English major, but I wish there was a way I could only major in the writing aspects of the language, because that's really what I'm interested in. I've wanted to write as a career since I could hold a pencil. Ironically enough, I'm not talented enough with words to describe the extent of my love for writing. Just know that it is a ridiculously large amount.

I plan on minoring in Arabic, mostly because after my study abroad in Egypt I'll only be one class short of the minor anyway. I'm in my second year of studying the language, and it is probably the hardest thing I have ever done to not quit. It should be a gazillion more than eight credits with the amount of time we have to put into that class. And yet, for some reason, I love it. I love the Arabic culture; I love the throaty sound of the language and the way it looks on paper; I love the weird Americanized Arabic pop music. However, when I signed up for my first Arabic class, I had no idea if I loved or not. I don't even really know why I did it.

Funny story about that - apparently when you sign up for Arabic, they send you an email warning you that the class is ridiculously hard and you should drop it if you're not willing to sell your soul to the BYU Arabic program. However, I added the class late and did not receive this email. Knowing me, I more than likely would have dropped the class on the spot. As it turns out, I didn't.

In the end, I'm studying Arabic because I grew up in Minnesota and Utah. I have virtually no experience with diversity in culture. Yet being a writer, I need to learn and grow and experience things that are different from what I'm used to. I need to meet people who think in different ways. If I learn this language, I'm hoping that I can experience the Middle Eastern culture in an inspiring and positive way. I believe that this area of the world will only continue to rise in importance to the rest of the world. I can't afford to ignore it.

You probably can't tell by all this dry writing, but I also love comedy. I harbor a secret dream of being a stand-up comedian because one of my favorite feelings in the world is making people laugh. I eat up that sort of attention like nobody's business.

I also (pseudo-secretly) dream of being a famous musician. I got a guitar for my 18th birthday and have been writing songs ever since. I absolutely adore singing and playing that thing. I could do it for hours.

What else about me? Hm...

I am extremely afraid of needles and numbness. Novocaine is my own personal hell.

I am addicted to bagels.

I have crazy mood swings, but as a whole I'm pretty positive.

For some reason, I can't like a guy unless he is a witty texter. It's kind of a sad bias, but oh, well.

I also play saxophone, but I haven't picked one up for half a year. I'm kind of sad about it, but at the same time I really have no desire to play it right now. I hope I can eventually get my chops back into shape, though, and play like the glory days. Someday.

I have really high self esteem, but I'm surprisingly insecure. My explanation of this is that I like myself and what I'm like; I'm not going to make any big changes in my personality for someone. And yet, I need to be a people-pleaser. I always wonder if people like me or if they're just being nice and don't actually enjoy being around me. It drives me nuts sometimes.

My biggest pet peeve is listening to people eat. Quiet, early-morning breakfasts before seminary with my brothers almost sent me to the crazy house.

I could go on talking about myself until the cows came home (I learned that phrase from my roommate, Erin), but I should probably be a little realistic. If you want to get to know me better, come up to me sometime and introduce yourself. You'll find out another interesting facet about me: I really like people, and yet I love very few. I can count on two hands the people that I really love. But don't worry your little head over that; I'll still enjoy being friends with you, and who knows? Maybe someday, I'll realize how important our friendship really is to me.

I'm Tasha, and I can't wait to meet you.