This One Goes Out to All My Peeps.

Back in Virginia, my middle school used to host an annual dance for the students. And so, every spring hundreds of awkward, socially inept tweens would gather ’round the basketball-court-turned-dance-floor and stare at each other or down at their shoes. In preparation for this momentous occasion, my mom and I would scavenge the mall for the most hideous dress available, pair it with clip-on earrings the size of my fists, and top the whole ensemble off with an Ogilvie home perm. It was like a makeover in reverse. Even worse, I would show up at the dance, talk to my same two lame friends and, if it was a good night, dance with a boy three inches shorter than me that hadn’t bothered to brush his teeth.

Well, as much as I’d love to say that these types of experiences are faint memories, now barely visible in the rear view mirror of the polished, socially graceful woman I’ve become…I’m afraid I can’t. In fact, as an adult, I have often entered social situations, felt horribly uncomfortable, and ended up staring at my shoes for hours upon end. Because my years of work in the service industry demanded a certain amount of conversational skill, I learned how to handle awkwardness with more finesse, but it never completely dissipated. So, to be authoring a blog about putting yourself out there feels a bit like my way of dealing with personal social shrapnel. Continue reading »

Filed under Blackbird Diary, Lost Demographic | Comments (2)