Every time I start something new, like a new school, school year, or class, or even join a new club or team, I worry about having to interact with a new and/or large groups of people. Social confidence is not something that comes naturally to me, and I just don’t know how to act around new people. In social situations, I’m shy, quiet, and appear scared at times.
Living this socially awkward life means that us “social awks” tend to stay at home and become television nerds. We watch shows about people who are confident, smart, and are social badasses. In our heads we think, “Wow, I wish I could just strut my way through life like_____ does.”
Well, maybe that’s our answer: Channel our inner badass TV character.
I watch a lot of television— it’s my life—so sometimes I channel a multitude of TV characters, like Mindy Kaling. Not only do I channel her real life badass-ness (I creep her Twitter every day and retweet her sassy tweets), but I watch her show The Mindy Project. She’s a weird, awkward, but sassy doctor living in New York, and she also goes through life channeling her inner celebrity.
Another character I channel in social situations is Jessica Day from New Girl. She’s another weirdo (much like myself and Mindy), who’s often placed in awkward situations, but often charms people with her weirdness. I keep this in mind when I find myself in any social situation (every social situation is awkward for me). I often shy away from talking to people because I’m scared they’re going to think I’m a weirdo; that what I say, how I act, and my gesticulations, will weird them out. Jessica Day shows us that sometimes people will like us for our weirdness.
Zoe Hart is another sassy doctor from the show Hart of Dixie. She’s charismatic without being overtly peppy, and never takes no for an answer, which makes her a perfect character to channel for those who hate fakeness. She keeps it real and brings out the attitude when it’s needed.
Although I try to keep these TV characters in mind at social gatherings, I still need to work on channeling my inner warrior/sassy strut when entering a room or just walking down the halls.
Thankfully, I can always refer to these strutting queens:
And don’t forget to flash a smile after your strut.
…maybe a little less mass-murdery-Disney-villain-evil kind of smile, but you get the point.
