Scherbatsky Syndrome.

Few weeks/days/months go by that I don't garner a comparison to Robin Scherbatsky, a female character on the CBS comedy show "How I Met Your Mother."

There are several reasons I am compared to her:

1. I like guns. No, seriously. I like guns. I grew up with a grandfather that liked to hunt & kill deer & anything that might have a fluffy tail, sans his hunting dogs. I like my right to bear arms. And to kill bears.

2. I like scotch. And I feel like I'm one of few girls on the planet that actually knows how to order scotch. I like mine neat.

3. I like traveling. I am driven enough, I think, to make my dream of visiting every continent a reality. And I would like to live on at least 2 other continents for more than 6 months.

4. I really like dogs. I don't think I'd ever own 5, but I'm currently looking into getting one, re: Trying to talk myself out of one because I will have an insane schedule. A dachshund. Named George Michael. Or Ivan Illich.

5. (And this is the kicker) Commitment scares the bejeebers out of me. I mean, really. In fact, recently, if you overhear most of my conversations, they consist of me saying that I'm not even sure that there is a perfect person for me. I kind of think I'll just have to make do with someone that shows up - Because there is no way that a fella will be able to adjust the fact that I smoke hookah, read Ayn Rand, play video games, enjoy wearing dresses, can navigate a wine list, can quote all the "Star Wars" movies in their entirety, listen to NPR for all my news sources, love talking NCAA football, read anything I can about brain cognition/particle physics & have a chocolate cupcake & frosting recipe memorized.

That's a lot to handle, and I don't expect anyone to really get all the pieces & appreciate all the quirks that make me, me. I've tried to appease & cut down on my flavors, but it's only ended relationships. Because what I'm really doing is hiding the real me.

The real me is that I don't believe in girls playing dumb. If a woman is intelligent, more intelligent than the men around her, that isn't a bad thing. Brains should not equal lack of a significant other. If that fact scares fellas off, then they are boys; not men.

I don't believe in girls being "princesses" & batting their lashes & tossing their hair to get their way.

It's all a fantasy. And when women have gotten their way because of that, they have lost respect. Wonder of wonders that someone doesn't take them seriously.

I think of Britney Spears, who has gotten by solely on her looks & her body. Who, last year, during a Vh1 tv special interview, she burst into tears & broke down saying: "I'm just so sad."

You want to know why that's happening? Because no one values her for who she is. They value her for what she can do & what her body looks like - It has nothing to do with her.

It de-values women as anything but play things that need saving; As less than people.

I don't need saving. And when I finally do ride off into the sunset with a mister, I want my own horse.

Granted, I do still believe in a lot of traditional gender roles and operate within them, but I also don't. Because I was raised by a strong thinking woman, and man too, who put in me desires & dreams of ambitions - Who taught me that the most important thing is doing what makes my heart beat, because those desires were created to glorify the Lord.

I wasn't created to wait around, dropping hankies in front of male counterparts, hoping that they whisk me away. I was created to honor a Savior - Who created a highly ambitious & driven, scotch-swilling, gun toting, commitment issue-ridden, dog loving girl.