Nancy Drew and The Case of the Anonymous Formspringer

So, like many, many, MANY other people in the world of Twitter and blogging, I started up one of those nifty formspring accounts, where people can ask me questions. I chose to allow “anonymous” questions, because I know that not everyone who might have a question is interested in creating their own account with formspring, which is understandable.

But I’m starting to get painfully curious about WHO is asking me certain questions! Especially because a lot of the anonymous questions have been really good ones…and I just wanna know, okay?

Alas, I can’t force this person (or people — who knows? It could be more than one…) to fess up. My only option would be to make it so that you can only ask me a question if you’re logged in. But it’s really not that big of a deal, I guess. I’m just, as I said, PAINFULLY curious.

So, dear anonymous Formspringer(s), I am going to answer two out of three questions which are currently sitting unread in my queue…and then we’ll talk about the third question at the end. Mmkay?

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Tell me about the people who have made the biggest impact on your life at each stage of your life. For example, elementary school, junior high, high school, college, post college, etc?

My second grade teacher had a HUGE impact on me throughout elementary school. Her name was Mrs. Kronemeyer, and each year, she and her class would write a book together. I’m talking a NOVEL, folks. She’d take people’s ideas for characters, situations, conflicts, etc., and just start constructing a storyline, allowing each of us to write portions and then putting it all together into a final story. She printed out the pages and actually bound them into Real Books for each of us. She was the person who helped me to fall in love with writing.

Middle school is kind of a blur for me. I remember marching band, I remember my first big crush, along with the inevitable first heartbreak, and I remember one of my best friends, Amber. Actually, I don’t remember a lot of specific details about my friendship with Amber, except that we spent every possible moment together during our middle school years. And then, when she moved across the country after eighth grade, I remember promising each other we’d write letters until the end of time. I think that lasted about two months before we lost touch completely. But Amber had an impact on my life those years, because she helped me to feel like I belonged somewhere.

As for high school, I would have to say that the person who made the biggest impact on my life was Kyle. Even though we didn’t really get to know each other until my senior year, he was the person who first made me feel like I deserved to be treated as an adult, with respect and consideration for my thoughts and ideas. He was ten years older than me, and not a lot of people knew we were as close as we were. While it was a complicated “relationship” that ended badly, I appreciate Kyle’s role in my life that year; he taught me that I was worth so much more than I led myself to believe.

It’s hard to choose just one person who had the “biggest” impact on me during my college years, because I went to a school where I had so many wonderful professors, mentors and friends. But if I have to pick one, it would be Rod Cathey, the director of the University Choir and Orchestra. On top of being a fantastic music director, Rod was always offering up insightful words and encouraging Scripture. And when he developed a brain tumor, hundreds — maybe even thousands — of people rallied around him because they felt the same way I did about Rod: like he was our college dad, our mentor and our dear friend. He fought that tumor until it had no power left (and he’s healthy!), and that strength and faith is only a small part of the impact Rod has had in my life.

Post college? Well, I feel like those years are still just beginning. However, I’m pretty sure I know who the person is that’s going to have the biggest impact on my life over the next ten, twenty or seventy years: my husband. He has taught me that it’s okay to cry, that sex is beautiful and messy and a lifelong adventure of exploration, and that being in love is nothing compared to CHOOSING to love, through whatever ups and downs come our way. He is, as cliched as it surely may sound, my soul mate. And I predict he will be making the biggest impact on my life for years and years to come.

***

There’s a certain comfort in anonymity. If I reveal myself, I wouldn’t be as open to asking the “really good” questions. What is your favorite birthday moment?

Before I answer your question, let me ask you this: What makes you less open to asking “really good” questions if I knew who you were? I hope I have been able to show, through my blog or in real life, that I don’t tend to shy away from tough questions — and that, in fact, I really appreciate the people in my life who ask them. So, if you’re worried about me judging you or something…don’t. Please?

Now. My favorite birthday moment would probably have to be my 18th birthday, back in 2003. I was a senior in high school, and it was a Saturday. The whole day was wonderful, as I recall, but the best part was when I was at school working on the upcoming issue of the newspaper, and one of my friends handed me a paper plate that just said, in penciled block letters, “Happy birthday, Tab-Nasty!” It was hilarious, because this friend, Eva, had never called me that before, and because I knew she’d had no idea it was my birthday until I walked in that morning and my teacher hollered the announcement to everyone within a mile of us. When I asked her where “Tab-Nasty” came from, she said something like, “I don’t know…I was just thinking about how I didn’t really have a nickname for you, and when inspiration hits, you don’t question it, okay?”

I’m sure I’ve had other, more meaningful, birthday moments, but that is the one that I always think back on with a giggle.

***

Now, about this third question, dear Anonymous friend of mine. You asked, “How was you first time? If ya know what I mean…” and when I replied asking you to fess up, you said, “I will never admit to who I am but I asked about your first time. I think you’re a great writer and I would love to hear you talk about it. Clearly, you would be enlightening all of us.”

So here’s the deal. I’m going to answer this question. And I will answer it in detail, without holding back. But since the topic of my first time is pretty…intimate (pun intended), and since certain people might rather NOT hear about it (Hi Dad! Hi siblings! Hi really old and awkward professor from APU who might someday stumble upon my blog!), I’m going to password-protect the post. And in order to obtain the password, you’re going to have to ask for it — either by a direct message on Twitter or by email. I suppose you don’t HAVE to fess up even then, but assuming you actually want to know the answer, I’ll know that you are ONE of the people who ask me for the password. Is that unfair? Maybe. But I really am at least a LITTLE bit concerned about just how much information I share about myself in this very public, very non-anonymous blog.

Stay tuned for the password-protected answer to the question, “How was your first time?” It’ll be up tomorrow.