I have a mild case of social anxiety. For me, this comes in the form of avoiding small talk for fear of saying the wrong thing. I am definitely the queen of saying the wrong thing. I also don't really understand "small talk." When asked "What's new with you?," what is the appropriate response? I mean, if you really want to know: "These jeans are new, and I like them. Well, they are not really new, because I bought them at a consignment store, but they are new to me. And they are LIKE new, because this cosignment store only accepts items that are gently worn. I also just had a baby, so that's new. Actually, that's why I had to get new jeans, because I still can't fit into my pre-baby pants." I'm guessing that, when asked "What's new with you," a long and drawn out response is not what is expected. On the otherhand, the response "Oh, nothing. How about you" is very passive. You may as well just say "Get the hell away from me, I don't want to talk to you." I suppose that's really just over-dramatizing, but it's difficult to extend a conversation with such a passive reponse to the "opening line."
How would Wonder Woman respond to "What's new with you?" Wonder Woman responds: "Well, modern society requires that I wear pants. That's been a difficult transition."
I am terribly afraid of class reuinons and other such events. It's cool to see everyone, but it would be much better if we could just wear a sign that reviews the following: 1) Name, 2) job/profession, 3) residence, 4) kids? if so, how many, age(s), and names. Since that information is out of the way, the converstaion could start with the picture of your children. At that point, you will hear "ohhh, she is beautiful! She looks just like you! Oh, how beautiful!" Because what else are people going to say about your cell-phone camera's version of your baby? It would be funny to take a picture of your dog's butt and tell people it is a picture of your baby. I wonder what the response would be?
I guess it's just the impersonal nature of small talk that frightens me. Am I boring them with my answers to their questions? Do they really even care what I do for a living? Are my questions too intrusive? What if they don't want to talk about their weekend?
Wonder Woman probably doesn't have an issue with small talk. I mean, COME ON! She's a super hero! WWS would be talking without offending, listening without judging. It's going to take some time to achieve this aspect of WWS...
