Writing Territories (Blog 8)

Writing Territories
Failure
Incompetence
No notable accomplishments
Social interactions
Overestimating my own abilities
Finding a job that meets my expectations
Geek
Driving
Video games and computer (then); video games and computer (now)
Procrastination

Social interactions, to put it simply, are something that, outside of the internet, I do not understand. Supposedly, there are many more facets to it than simply just the words leaving one's mouth, including body language, tone of voice, and emotional reactions. Furthermore, unlike on the internet where I have the time to properly formulate my responses, one-on-one conversation face-to-face involves thinking up proper reactions immediately. Not to mention, there are many references to popular culture that I am apparently supposed to understand and respond to properly which is much harder to explain to someone's face that I do in fact not get the reference than to someone online, usually because online, he or she is able to link me to a picture or youtube video of what he or she is referencing. Worse yet, and perhaps the most unconquerable issue so far, are slang words and phrases used in real life that are not at all used on the internet, and the moment it becomes obvious that I am not familiar with these, conversations tend to be awkward. All of these factors contribute to my overall discomfort with face-to-face conversation as I am constantly worried that others will judge me for not understanding basic slang and other typical conventions of conversation to the point that it stresses me out quite a bit. Lastly, it is rare that I find others interested in the same topics as I am, so even if I do manage to navigate around the battlefield of conversation, the conversation itself often ends abruptly as neither of us find common interests. It is for these reasons that I typically avoid conversation whenever it is possible and as a result, why the art of social interaction will probably continue to remain a mystery to me for quite a long time.