Growing up, I was the kid that would bury my face into my parent’s side and whisper to them what to say to avoid making eye contact or speaking up to anyone that wasn’t my mom, dad, or older brother.
I was ALWAYS scared of looking or sounding stupid, so I used to practice over and over the lines I had to say such as, “Hello, I’m Ryan” and “When I grow up, I want to be an archeologist”. You know… Important kid’s stuff.
When I was 5 or 6, we had a family dinner where I had to say hello to my aunt and uncles when they arrived – which terrified me. I had practiced my lines, yet what came out was – “Hi uncle Ken. Hi uncle Kelvin. Hi UNCLE Virginia…”. An innocent mistake, but when everyone laughed, I had never felt so stupid or embarrassed. I ran to hid behind the couch to cry and stayed there for hours. I’ve never forgotten that day.
Playing Pretend
Starting Kindergarten, I had no idea how to make friends or talk to other kids. Most days I would sit and play by myself. One day though, and I don’t remember how, I made my first friend on my own: ‘Alex’; who today is still my best friend.
