The longer road...
I was having a shower and thinking, as you do and I remembered something quite marvellous.
One of the last things one of my teachers ever said to me, as I was leaving Austria, was to never be shy. I believe the encouragement was that according to her I'd come far and that I shouldn't clamp up again in a new place. It's such a wonderful thing to remember this because I was painfully shy as a child.
As a baby, when I was sent to Kindergarten I supposedly wasn't shy. A fact my granny likes to remind me of. She always likes to tell me how when she used to take Mark to Kindergarten all the ladies there didn't like her. But on the day I went in, and she came to pick me up, they had changed their tune. That's the power of Ili, baby ;)
But I have no recollection of how loudmouthed or whatever it was, in Kindergarten, so to me it never happened. As soon as I went to school I remember I was shy. I was against talking to adults (I could talk to kids alright... coz I did have friends you know:p ). I didn't even tell the teachers (Who were so very lovely) when it was my birthday so we could celebrate, while all my class mates had their parties. I once got lost on the way home from school (we had just moved to my grannies flat, in preparation of leaving Austria). I had gotten on the U-Bahn on the wrong side so I went the opposite direction of where I wanted to go. When I realised I pretty much hit the end of the line and walked all the way back from where I came before I asked anyone for help and directions. Thank goodness a 9 year old kid could still get help without being looked at likea total moron, lol! So a lady went with me on the U-Bahn and showed me when to get off.
Sadly this trend continued well into my years living in Australia. No... not getting lost, but just not talking to anyone no matter what the circumstance.
I've grown out of it gradually, I'm sure you're all pleased to hear :D I've got all you buds to thank for that. Most of all Rowena and Marc. Thanks guys!
Now I'll just about talk to anyone if I have to and I really push myself to be open and friendly in potential friend situations. Uni did a great thing for helping me overcome the shyness too. I still lapse into it but nothing as bad as it was when I was a kid.
So, I'm glad I remembered what my teacher said to me all those years ago. It reminds me how far I've come.
^__^
One of the last things one of my teachers ever said to me, as I was leaving Austria, was to never be shy. I believe the encouragement was that according to her I'd come far and that I shouldn't clamp up again in a new place. It's such a wonderful thing to remember this because I was painfully shy as a child.
As a baby, when I was sent to Kindergarten I supposedly wasn't shy. A fact my granny likes to remind me of. She always likes to tell me how when she used to take Mark to Kindergarten all the ladies there didn't like her. But on the day I went in, and she came to pick me up, they had changed their tune. That's the power of Ili, baby ;)
But I have no recollection of how loudmouthed or whatever it was, in Kindergarten, so to me it never happened. As soon as I went to school I remember I was shy. I was against talking to adults (I could talk to kids alright... coz I did have friends you know:p ). I didn't even tell the teachers (Who were so very lovely) when it was my birthday so we could celebrate, while all my class mates had their parties. I once got lost on the way home from school (we had just moved to my grannies flat, in preparation of leaving Austria). I had gotten on the U-Bahn on the wrong side so I went the opposite direction of where I wanted to go. When I realised I pretty much hit the end of the line and walked all the way back from where I came before I asked anyone for help and directions. Thank goodness a 9 year old kid could still get help without being looked at likea total moron, lol! So a lady went with me on the U-Bahn and showed me when to get off.
Sadly this trend continued well into my years living in Australia. No... not getting lost, but just not talking to anyone no matter what the circumstance.
I've grown out of it gradually, I'm sure you're all pleased to hear :D I've got all you buds to thank for that. Most of all Rowena and Marc. Thanks guys!
Now I'll just about talk to anyone if I have to and I really push myself to be open and friendly in potential friend situations. Uni did a great thing for helping me overcome the shyness too. I still lapse into it but nothing as bad as it was when I was a kid.
So, I'm glad I remembered what my teacher said to me all those years ago. It reminds me how far I've come.
^__^