Sunday, November 6, 2011

It's been a while...

I'm dusting off the old secret blog but mostly because I need to post today thanks to NaBloPoMo and just don't have the energy to post on my public site. Thus...this post allows me to keep the commitment of posting each day.

I went to a wedding reception earlier today and had a gala event I attended last night. Both were great events, but I felt so awkward at times as I flew solo to both events. I've lost the art of small talk and conversation and it's made me increase on the 'social awkwardness' scale.

I used to be the social butterfly...the one who would kick the party off and make sure everyone was having a good time. I had invites to all of the events and went to everything I could. I also suffered from FOMO (fear of missing out) and eventually burned myself out by overdoing it. In my early 20's, I finally realized that I didn't need to be at everything.

Moving to Silicon Valley has put me back into the ecosystem of a full social calendar with multiple parties and events each night, but I just can't do it. I don't have the energy for small talk and schmoozing, which are at the top of some peoples agendas who attend every event they can. I would much rather have a dinner with 3 friends to catch up and have an opportunity to go to a deeper level, which just doesn't happen at massive social events.

When did I become such an introvert? I need to find that balance between social butterfly and selectiveness.

1 comment:

Nixx said...

I really enjoyed reading this post. I can relate to it any many ways. I think you are on point in terms of a more intimate get together with just a few friends if you are looking for a meeting of substance. I too often attend many group functions, and though I enjoy it ver much, there are times when the gift of gab won;t help much anyway when you are speaking with a Debbie downer or a negative Nancy anyways. I think if you once had the butterfly blessing its still there. You just need to be in the mood for socializing and working the room.
-bye butterfly..