Today was another day subbing at my mom’s school and another early morning which I am feeling the effects as I currently write this post. Today though, every teacher is looking to clean up their classroom and organize before the end of the school year. As a result, I barely taught any kids but had many conversations with adults who needed help organizing or moving. First, I helped move books to a teachers car and was able to chat and connect with teachers who were working in the book room. After that, I helped a stem teacher back up stuff from his old room into boxes. When I came down, we ended up having a great talk about road biking and Burlington, VT. He commented on my genuine letter and thank you that I wrote when I received a scholarship from the school which once again reaffirmed my belief that being genuine and kind are two traits that go a long way. Once I finished the conversation, I reflected back on it, feeling proud and excited to be able to hold an intellectual dialogue with an older adult without it being awkward or uncomfortable. When I was younger, the ability to discuss with older figures was a struggle for me and I think other kids my age. It always felt awkward and abrupt. From giving tours at school and pushing my comfort zone, I have practiced this skill and now feel adept at being able to hold a great conversation with an older individual. This helps with connections and having the ability to leave great impressions on others.
After school, I went to my automotive shop. I started chatting with the mechanic. If I am going to go on the road in my converted car or van after college, I want to have some basic skills and knowledge on cars. As a result, I built up the confidence and asked if I could come for the day and learn some skills from him. He graciously said he would love to teach me, “just promise you're not going to sue me if you get hurt.” Without feeling comfortable talking with adults, I would have never formed a connection which results in me never being able to learn from a mechanic who knows what he is doing and been working on cars for 30+ years.
Due to Covid, being able to small-talk and hold conversations became an overlooked skill because no one was interacting with anyone. As a result, I think many people forgot how to interact and be able to apply this skill, myself included. Now that covid is starting to wind down (fingers crossed) this post is a reminder to re-invigorate and turn this switch back on as I feel it is such an essential skill to be able to connect with people. If this is something you still struggle doing, here are some steps to help:
Be confident in yourself and what you bring to a conversation- say to yourself “I’m the shit.”
Don’t overthink it: I fall into this trap all the time but there isn’t any right way to talk to someone. Be genuine and yourself and let that lead the conversation
Try and connect with what they are saying by using a real-world example from your own life
When talking to someone this past semester, we both agreed that the meaning of life is making connections with people in the real world. It can lead to so many opportunities in the future that building as many bridges and connections as possible is so important. So go out and start talking to people, we are all humans constantly figuring it out day by day.
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