klutz

Sometimes I wonder if personality characteristics or traits spring from somewhere deep inside ourselves, or if they are just given to us via family and friends through brainwashing. When I was a kid, my parents designated me as the loud, silly, clumsy one in the family because I seemed to possess no fear of danger or death (or any nerve endings, for that matter). I swung from palm trees, fell off several large structures, spent a summer perfecting a trick that consisted of jumping off a moving bike.

I don't see myself as clumsy person, but maybe I have a skewed perception of myself. I have to consider that I've sliced my face with a metal fence and I've broken three teeth in Andorra (a tiny country sandwiched between Spain and France). Surprisingly, I've broken no bones (yet - knock on wood).

So it's no surprise to me that this is the second time I've given myself a black eye. The first time involved snowboarding and my goggles ramming into my eye when I fell on my face. I wish there was a very cool accompanying story for this particular incident, but there isn't. I walked into the career counselor's office and she asked, somewhat jokingly, if I was a victim of domestic violence. No, I had to admit. I was a victim of the car door. Yes, I am 26 years old, and I can't seem to close the car door properly without swinging it into my face.

Luckily, all these years of accidents and injuries have transformed my thinking in a positive manner. Whenever something bad happens, I just wince, chuckle, and think about how much worse it could have been. If I had swung that car door into my face just an inch higher, I might be blind in my left eye!

Another upside: I have a very fierce looking cut under my left eye, like a miniature eye. I don't know if it looks more football player-ish or cyclops-ish. People are afraid to talk to me and I feel very tough and silly.