Day 24: Something you've learned

This is ridiculously vague.

But I'll share something anyway. Tonight in my study abroad prep class, someone came and spoke about culture shock. One thing he said really stuck out to me: we all operate on scripts, just most of them are unconscious because we've grown up using them. There's a script when you go to buy food, a script when you bump into someone, a script when greeting an acquaintance. We really only notice them when they change or aren't followed.

In a huge amount of situations, I am like an actor without a script. I see other people moving around me, perfectly in tune, all knowing what they're supposed to do and when. I watch, but I can't quite imitate. My words fall flat, my laughter is too loud or too long, my gestures are just wrong. This is why I get so anxious in social situations, because I somehow never got a copy of the script when they were being handed out.

So yeah. I had a bit of an epiphany as to the root of my social anxiety. Cheers.