SHYNESS VS. SELF-CONFIDENCE

How many of you have been accused of being stuck up, a snob, or aloof? I was. It was some 40 years ago, and the accusation flabbergasted me. I was 18 had just started a new job and a girl that I went to school with was working there. We became good friends and one day she said to me “You know, you were stuck up and a snob in high school.” I was shocked, you could have knocked me over with a feather. I thought about it a second and said to her “You know I was so shy that I never spoke to anyone unless they spoke to me first, because I was afraid they wouldn’t want to talk to me.” 

Recently, I watched the TV shows about Regis Philbin retiring and there was a segment where he returned to his high school, Cardinal Hayes High School, a Catholic school for boys in the Bronx. He gave a speech to the young men at Cardinal Hayes that made me think of my own youth. So, I wrote down the words he spoke and posted them on Facebook as follows: 

TO MY GRANDCHILDREN:  "Something I would like to pass on to you. How sorry I am that I didn’t participate in something that I wanted to be a part of. I could have learned it here (in school) and if any of you have any of those dreams and you are doubtful that you have the ability or the talent to fulfill that dream, don’t be frightened by it, just dive in." - Regis Philbin.

The words that Regis spoke that day really touched my heart. Because I remember when I was in school not trying out for a play, not becoming part of the Yearbook Class, not getting involved, because I was afraid. Then I find out later that some classmates thought I was stuck up when all the while it was just my fear and shyness.

Recently my granddaughter and I were out running errands and I was telling her the story about my friend accusing me of being stuck up. She said to me “I never thought you would ever have been shy Grandma.” I laughed and told her “honey, you are seeing the older, wiser person, not the teenager who lacked confidence in herself.”

So this Blog is two-fold:

One part is talking to the younger generation - encouraging them to “dive in” and not be afraid. Try something new, put yourself out there.

The other part is talking to people who think someone is stuck up, a snob or aloof. You may have just encountered a person who is shy and all they need is someone to come up and say “Hi.”

And so the journey begins...