If you have ever hidden behind a shelf in a store to avoid being seen by someone you know, then you and I have something very much in common.
I can't exactly explain why I have this crazy paranoia about running into people I know from school or wherever else in a public place. All I know is that wherever I am at the grocery store or at Target, or at Barnes and Noble (all places where I have had encounters), I am constantly checking over my shoulder for someone I recognize. Orlando is a large city, but obviously not large enough for me, considering the amount of times this has actually happened. Friends, acquaintances, classmates, teachers (!), a guy I had a crush on, you name it.
Usually, I try to hid from them and pray they don't spot me. Sometimes, if it is someone I don't know that well, we will both mutually do the thing where we pretend not to see each other. I appreciate people who do that. My family makes so much fun of me whenever I tell them stories about ducking behind a bookshelf in order to keep from being spotted. For a long time, I didn't really know why my first instinct was always to run, but over the years, I've started to figure it out.
I think in general, it has to do with my introversion. As an introvert, I need more time to process and prepare for things, especially social interactions. I don't like being caught off-guard! If I am going to class or going to hang out with friends, I have time to mentally ready myself for the interactions. I always feel as if I would have nothing to say to someone if I ran into them by accident, and indeed, I don't think I would. This may sound rude to some people, but to me, it just fits into my general belief that I do not need to talk if I have nothing to talk about! It is really fairly simple.
But of course, the paranoid in me keeps me anxious whenever I go out in public. Over winter break, I happened to run into an ex-friend (the one I wrote about here) at a restaurant. So the other day when I heard she was back in town for summer, my first thought was, "Whelp, can't leave my house for three months!"
Just kidding, of course.
Kind of.
See you soon,
The Introvert
I can't exactly explain why I have this crazy paranoia about running into people I know from school or wherever else in a public place. All I know is that wherever I am at the grocery store or at Target, or at Barnes and Noble (all places where I have had encounters), I am constantly checking over my shoulder for someone I recognize. Orlando is a large city, but obviously not large enough for me, considering the amount of times this has actually happened. Friends, acquaintances, classmates, teachers (!), a guy I had a crush on, you name it.
Usually, I try to hid from them and pray they don't spot me. Sometimes, if it is someone I don't know that well, we will both mutually do the thing where we pretend not to see each other. I appreciate people who do that. My family makes so much fun of me whenever I tell them stories about ducking behind a bookshelf in order to keep from being spotted. For a long time, I didn't really know why my first instinct was always to run, but over the years, I've started to figure it out.
I think in general, it has to do with my introversion. As an introvert, I need more time to process and prepare for things, especially social interactions. I don't like being caught off-guard! If I am going to class or going to hang out with friends, I have time to mentally ready myself for the interactions. I always feel as if I would have nothing to say to someone if I ran into them by accident, and indeed, I don't think I would. This may sound rude to some people, but to me, it just fits into my general belief that I do not need to talk if I have nothing to talk about! It is really fairly simple.
But of course, the paranoid in me keeps me anxious whenever I go out in public. Over winter break, I happened to run into an ex-friend (the one I wrote about here) at a restaurant. So the other day when I heard she was back in town for summer, my first thought was, "Whelp, can't leave my house for three months!"
Just kidding, of course.
Kind of.
See you soon,
The Introvert
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