This is my first meme (seven things I love), so thanks to Jewish Side of Babysitter for tagging me!

Writing out seven things I love is difficult.... I love so many different things and people, and I have so much in my life that I am grateful for, so it is hard to limit it to seven. Since I'm not including people though, let's see how I can pull this off.

1. I love Judaism, and when I read how people converted into it, I feel so fortunate that I had it so easy. I was born Jewish and did not have to work for it as hard as they did. But what I am trying to work on is becoming a better Jew, learning more about my religion, understanding it better, and growing through it.
2. This should come as no surprise: I love writing. (Looks like this is one of the things Babysitter and I share.) People sometimes ask me how old I was when I first started writing, but I can never confidently answer that question. I've been writing for as long as I can remember, and at each stage of life, my obsession with it has only intensified. When I was in first grade, I took a few sheets of printing paper, folded them together, stapled them down the middle, and announced to everyone that I was writing a book. I made a cover for it, proudly wrote my name on the front, and felt so accomplished. (Then, seven years later, I had the unforgettable experience of completing an actual book, self-publishing it, and seeing the beautiful result.) Writing is one of the things I am most passionate about. It is an outlet, a release, a means of expression, an art, a lifestyle. It is always in my thoughts as I live life. As I experience something, I create sentences in my head that would adequately express it.
3. Besides for appreciating the ability to express myself, I love seeing others express themselves, whether it is through art, writing, music, or acting. It is no wonder then that I love literature, I love Broadway, I love music (and was miserable without it). For me, it is a way of connecting to other people through ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
4. I love animals, and especially my precious dog and turtles. (I will soon be adding two rats to that list!) One of the things I love about animals is that they will never hurt you emotionally. Sure, they might bite or scratch, but you know it's not malicious. They don't have the same tendencies that humans do to viciously stab you in the back and leave emotional scars. All they want is that you should take care of them, give them your time and your love, and they will be grateful. And who doesn't appreciate unconditional love?
5. I love learning, acquiring more knowledge, and getting a more thorough understanding of the world I live in and of its history.
6. I love sitting in a Barnes & Noble or a Starbucks and watching people walk by. It's one of the things that inspires me as a writer. You can observe so many different types of people and create characters out of them. It's especially fun when the person is sitting down too and you can observe their behavior over an extended period of time.
7. The seventh and final thing! I love taking and collecting photographs. (This became easier after my father got our first digital camera and I got the impression that I could take as many pictures as I want without being told I'm wasting film and money. Since then, you have no idea by how much the amount of pictures I took increased.) I love looking through photos, printing them, and making albums. (This might also be one of the things I love about animals -- you have so many opportunities to take pictures! They never say to you, "Oh, no, I don't look good! Don't take pictures of me!")

So that was the "seven things I love" meme. Now I get to tag seven people.... I'm tagging Blob of Something Different, Baal Tshuva Slowly, Subjugated Wife, Frum Skeptic, Dina, Chana (The Curious Jew), and Shlomo.