I'm glad you found it helpful! Sometimes, I get excited by a topic that I think is interesting, and just... kind of overdo it Then, I think I might scare people off a little!

That IS interesting that you can be funny with kids. Even if it's something that you directed to do, it still requires *you* to do it! Do you find it's less stressful - like you're less worried about being embarrassed?

Something else to think about, especially relating to the childhood stuff... are you familiar with the Meyers-Briggs personality types? (Introversion is one of the scales they use.) Some types are *much* less common. For example, here, it's estimated that 75% of people are extroverts... so as an introvert, you're already in the minority. If you're also more of an "N" (intuitive-type) rather than "S" (sensor) - it's the same thing, ~75% of people are Sensors. If you're both an introvert and an intuitive - then you start to be an "oddball", you're going to think, act, and feel differently than most of the people you meet in everyday life.

What I thought was meaningful about this (I'm likely an "IN**" type) - one person pointed out that growing up, in an average class at school, you'll have mostly extroverted sensing types. For these kids, they look around and see that almost everyone is just like them - they interact in a similar way, they have similar interests, and they just kind of "fit in". Their basic experience from a young age is one of fitting in! For people who are a rarer type, you look around and might be lucky to find one other person in your class that is similar to you. So, from a very young age, you feel like "I don't fit in".

I could very much relate to this!

Also... it made me so sad to read that, growing up, other kids told you that your interests were weird or boring! I kind of hope that now, as an adult (especially since you work with kids), that you can think back on how limited a kid's worldview is... and how little they actually know .

re: What to say when people ask how you're doing. Oh, wow! The fact that the people where you live actually want to know, and think it's rude to just say, "I'm fine, how about you?" - is kind of blowing my mind ( =interesting! ). Here, while it can be an invitation to talk more about things going on with you, it's definitely the norm to just say "fine" and move on to the rest of the conversation.

That's kind of amazing, but gosh, I can imagine the pressure, and not wanting to give off the wrong impression!

Have you ever thought of being honest (maybe with someone you know well and trust) - and saying something like, "I'm good, but I'm struggling a little with how to keep a conversation going. It seems like such a natural easy thing for other people, even for you, but I get a little nervous sometimes. Do you have any great tips?"

Is it OK, socially, to answer positively if you give more details (beyond "fine")? Like, "I'm really happy... I was able to hike this morning, and had such a lovely time walking around the lake behind my house. It was blissful. How are you?"

And, hope that's helpful and not too pushy. I know, sometimes, it kind of misses the point when someone tells you, "you should just say/do this!". But those are things that I might try.

re: The potential for embarrassment... yup! It does suck, and I think we all get nervous about that. But, I also am starting to think that a lot of times, things that make me feel absolutely mortified (like, "Oh no! How could I have said that, they must think I'm a total idiot. I don't think I can ever talk to this person again!") - seem to be not such a big deal to the other person.

I'm sorry that it's so hard to figure out what direction to go with a conversation though, when you have no "directions". That's really rough, because it is sooooo wide open. It might take a little experimentation? Like, think about what you'd like to try in advance, then watch what kind of reactions you get? Sometimes thinking of it that way, like "I'm just trying this out to see if it works better" can be helpful too.

I hope that if you check out the show, you like it! It's silly, but I really enjoyed it. I do love thinking about the issues that they raise about what it means to be a good person. (But in fairness, I enjoy the silliness too!) I recorded the finale tonight, and it's just about over... so I may have to go watch it now!

Take care, Seeker33!