I was, for most of my young and teen years, a very shy person.
I had lots of friends and was outgoing and funny when around people I was comfortable with, but speak up around an adult I didn't know? Wasn't going to happen. Approach an older person for directions? No way. I would rather the earth swallow me whole than to open my mouth and address a stranger.
My Dad, the exact opposite of this type of person, saw this trait in me early on, and tried many things to try and get me out of my cocoon. He took me along on some business outings where I was forced to meet many of his business associates and their families and staff.
I don't think it went terribly, but I don't think it worked the way he intended. I am sure I said hello and did not embarrass him by mumbling, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't the epitome of social grace either. I mean, I think I was 12 or 13.
My Dad worked in the fishing industry, and this meant we drove down to sometimes San Pedro, sometimes San Diego, and I would have to go onto these huge fishing boats with him. Now, I can see that was probably a pretty cool thing to get to do. At the time, all I could think was that it smelled pretty bad and how much I was not a big fan of fish in general. Sometimes the cargo hold would be full of tuna, and I don't know if you have ever seen the tuna they catch, but those suckers are HUGE. At least being frozen, it helped a bit with the smell, but not a whole lot because there was just so much.
I could never really talk to my teachers, either. If I felt a grade was unjustified or they were doing something in class that was not working, they never heard a peep from me. In fact, I failed a computer class in high school and never once spoke to the teacher. And well, she never took the time to speak to me, either. That lady was a horrible teacher. My Dad, after meeting with her, said she was very nice. I told my Dad she was the worst teacher in the whole school, and she was. She was mean, intimidating, never explained anything, and if you did something wrong, oh well, F for you. She was one of the only teachers I ever had that I truly hated.
Anyway, I was a real wallflower when it came to interacting with figures of authority or people I didn't know until I got to college. It was maybe my second year, and I will never forget that a group of friends and I had this coupon for a free meal, like a buy one get one. It may have been a Chinese restaurant. It was good up until the date we were there. So it said, let's say, valid until 9/21/26, and we were there on 9/21/26. So we ordered a bunch of food, and then we tried to use the coupon. Our waiter told us it was expired and we couldn't use it.
Now, I think they saw a bunch of young college kids and thought they could get away with taking advantage of them. Possibly they were struggling at the time, I don't know, they were a small mom and pop chain. They may have deeply regretted offering those coupons and were losing money on them, because they were a really good deal. However, that didn't take away from the fact that we had a valid coupon and they were being unfair. So for the first time ever in my life, I argued with someone in public that I didn't know. I called for a manager (how Karen of me!) and said that the coupon was in no way expired and we had come here specifically because it was the last day of the coupon and that this was not legal, or something like that. I may have threatened legal action, I don't know. We were all fairly poor college students and credit cards were barely a thing, so we may not have even had enough cash on hand to pay the entire bill if they didn't honor the coupon. I was just so mad.
Suffice it to say we made it out without having to wash the dishes, and I came away with a heady sense of newfound power and confidence.
And my husband will be the fist to tell you, I haven't shut up since.
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