Between graduation, moving, gardening, and a wonderful weekend with friends--life has been a bit crazy. On top of that I've started a few new projects within the last month. So, I must apologize for neglecting this blog.
I'm taking a couple of minutes to write this up because I want to tell you about some of the projects I have been working on.
Words Beyond The Lines is my first attempt at professional blogging. I am writing about writing (setting, description, inspiration, etc.). My favorite section in this blog, however, is the anti writer's block--a weekly writing prompt or challenge.
ThinkTorah is a kind of devotional I am putting up on Facebook. Daily readings with questions to go along with each reading. My goal is to encourage people to read and think about Scripture.
Anyway, check them out and let me know what you think. If you get something out of either of these, pass them on.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Awkward...
So, today I'm going to talk about one of those topics that we all think about but never really talk about--the rules of social awkwardness. Then again, maybe I'm the only one who thinks about these things (in which case, this is a little awkward).
Actually, I'm only going to hit a small subset of these rules. To cover them all would require a book. For this post we'll stick to the friend quota.
What is the friend quota? Put simply it is the amount of time you can spend with a friend before you become a nuisance. Ok, so there are a few other variables besides time, but that is the major one. Another name for this is "overstaying your welcome." There seems to be this unwritten rule that you must carefully manage your interactions with friends so as not to become overbearing or awkward. This can create a fear of exceeding the friend quota when we want to get to know a person better or just spend some extra time with a friend.
How much time is too much? Anything more than normal. That is generally the way social awkwardness works--anything unexpected or out of the ordinary has the potential to create an awkward moment. So, you have a friend that you kinda know, but don't spend much time talking to. You start sitting next to this friend in class, joining him/her for lunch, chatting on Facebook, etc. Awkward? Hey, I've weirded people out just by saying hi to them on Facebook once.
Of course, this kind of social awkwardness is worst with people you don't know (which can explain why it is sometimes hard to make new friends). After all, you can't get to know a person when the friend quota equals zero. Add to that the problem of not knowing what to talk about (that's a whole 'nother subject) and you have yourself a mess.
So, you see a classmate eating lunch and you want to meet this person. No particular reason--just want to try to make a new friend. Or you see a stranger playing piano and you think to yourself "He plays piano, I play piano...I should introduce myself!" These situations scream warnings of social awkwardness. And I can't say that there wasn't any. But I know that the friends I made in both of those situations were worth it.
Actually, I'm only going to hit a small subset of these rules. To cover them all would require a book. For this post we'll stick to the friend quota.
What is the friend quota? Put simply it is the amount of time you can spend with a friend before you become a nuisance. Ok, so there are a few other variables besides time, but that is the major one. Another name for this is "overstaying your welcome." There seems to be this unwritten rule that you must carefully manage your interactions with friends so as not to become overbearing or awkward. This can create a fear of exceeding the friend quota when we want to get to know a person better or just spend some extra time with a friend.
How much time is too much? Anything more than normal. That is generally the way social awkwardness works--anything unexpected or out of the ordinary has the potential to create an awkward moment. So, you have a friend that you kinda know, but don't spend much time talking to. You start sitting next to this friend in class, joining him/her for lunch, chatting on Facebook, etc. Awkward? Hey, I've weirded people out just by saying hi to them on Facebook once.
Of course, this kind of social awkwardness is worst with people you don't know (which can explain why it is sometimes hard to make new friends). After all, you can't get to know a person when the friend quota equals zero. Add to that the problem of not knowing what to talk about (that's a whole 'nother subject) and you have yourself a mess.
So, you see a classmate eating lunch and you want to meet this person. No particular reason--just want to try to make a new friend. Or you see a stranger playing piano and you think to yourself "He plays piano, I play piano...I should introduce myself!" These situations scream warnings of social awkwardness. And I can't say that there wasn't any. But I know that the friends I made in both of those situations were worth it.
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