Bradley 1
Robert Bradley
Serena Reavis
ENG 111-0006
2 July 2015
Seeing the Fun Side
For many people high school is a time of parties and hanging out after school. That was not the case for me. I had a very difficult time making friends as I was very shy. It had always been that way for me throughout my childhood. I felt uncomfortable with a group of kids my age and that in turn fed my social anxiety. It made me think that I was wired this way and that I would really never feel relaxed when going to a party or hanging out with a group of friends. Soon my only real way of feeling comfortable talking with other people was when I was online or playing video games. My parents started to take notice that I was quite antisocial and they tried as best as they could to get me to break out of my comfort zone. This, as it did each time, failed to help my social skills. Soon high school had started and I practically had no friends there. I was extremely nervous about high school. Not because the classes would be too hard but the fact that I only had two friends attending. My freshmen year at high school slowly passed by. I did well in all my classes but I didn’t connect with many of the students there. My sophomore year was the same as my freshmen year. I kept to myself and completed my classwork with no issues. After my junior year had ended I went to Boy’s State. A program that is held by the state that is to teach America’s youth how our country’s government works. I did not actually want to sign up for this but my parents insisted. So I agreed and because I had great grades in my classes I was one of the four kids from my school selected. I was relieved to see that my best friend was also chosen to attend. I learned a lot about how our government operates but I also learned something much more valuable than this, I discovered how to make friends.
When I arrived to the college campus I immediately regretted signing up. I was greeted with a swarm of other high school seniors. I grabbed my bags, headed to my assigned dorm room, and avoided the crowd. After getting my stuff unpacked for the week long session I laid down on the incredibly squishy bed. It practically began to engulf me in a few minutes. My roommate showed up around 30 minutes later. He was slightly taller than me, roughly six feet tall. He had a slender build but was surprisingly strong. I didn’t know at the time but he was very sociable and outgoing, practically the opposite of me. He was obviously the first to introduce himself and his parents whom had accompanied him to the dorm room. Derick and I chatted for a while, and by “we” I mean he talked and I listened. He took notice of this and was pretty forward about addressing me about it. I was rather shocked that he would just openly confront me of my social anxiety issues.Unsure of what to say he shook it off and we both went back to getting ready for the first meeting for the day. It was a basic introduction and orientation. People were informed of what would be happening throughout our time at Boy’s State. After this meeting we had the rest of the day for free time. We could play sports or go do whatever we wanted to pass the time. My roommate had gone off after the meeting and I assumed that he was meeting up with people that he already knew that were attending. So I had the option of playing soccer or heading back to my room. I chose the latter and went to play some video games. I must have played around three hours because the sun was starting to set. Then I heard the room door unlocking and Derick jumped through. He was short of breath, as if he had been running all over the campus. He had this look of excitement about him and he asked me if I wanted to join him and some other people he met earlier to hang out. I gave him my standard response, “ No thanks man. I’m just going to relax and spend the night here.” He must have expected this because his next phrasing of it was less of a question and more like a recommendation. I then got defensive and told him how I felt. “I don’t feel comfortable around groups of people and even less so around people I have never met.” I asserted.
“How do you expect to survive in this world if you shut yourself off from the six billion people on this planet? It is so important to make social connections with people in your life if you ever want to have friends that will give a damn about you. If you don’t ever get out then you might as well not even try to enjoy life because living is about the people in your life that you spend time with,” Derick exclaimed.
Stunned, I contemplated what he just said. After a few seconds of silence and the stern look that Derick was giving me I caved in and decided to go with him. I could tell that he was ecstatic that his speech had worked on me because his expression changed from that of a scolding parent to one of excitement and enthusiasm. We both left the room and headed out to the courtyard of our dorm room. A group of roughly fifteen people was waiting outside for us to rejoin them. I was instantly hating myself for letting him talk me into doing this. They all introduced themselves and then I did the same. I was only able to do this because I was reciting in my head what to say. Upon finishing my introduction I felt like I would pass out from anxiety and lack of oxygen getting to my brain. When I remembered to breath, it was at this moment I felt I had overcome my social awkwardness. Derick had, by himself, done what no one else had been able to do for me in eleven years. That night was incredible. We had a late night soccer match, went all over playing midnight hide and seek, and then the best was what we saved for last, mattress jousting. This is exactly what it sounds like.
The rest of my time there was great. I did learn a lot about the government but during my free time I worked on becoming a better person through interaction. This week has been one of my most memorable points in my life. It truly turned my life around for the better.