Magical places, magical moments

There are certain places I've been to in my life, where I was suddenly struck with the feeling of magic. The place may not look extraordinary, but there was something special about it, a difference in the air, a shift in the order of things. It is a rare thing to come by, which makes me treasure these places all the more.

If I told you a story, would you believe it?

I've been doing a lot of reading and thinking, and thinking about what I've been reading.

The friendly wind

I began to walk home from school by myself around the later years of elementary school. My parents didn't want me to, but there weren't many options for them. It was not a long walk by any means, but long enough for an adventure.

Give me a name

I love naming and personalizing many of the mundane things in my life. I remember going to my friend's house when I was younger, and upon introduction to her favourite stuffed animal, I asked for its name... only to be told it did not have one. My seven-year old heart was truly stumped by this. Who could have a stuffed animal or toy and not name it? To be honest, it still stumps me a little to this day.

When the ability to name group chats and give nicknames to members came about, I went through my contact list and changed just about every single chat, to the displeasure of some. My favourite one has to be our pizza one though...


... I still have yet to name all my plants.

Introversion

I have grown up with the shy title given to me for the majority of my life. It was true for the most part; in new situations, when meeting new people, and when I was by myself, I was pretty quiet and sought comfort rather than challenge.

I have distinct memories of a summer camp when I was twelve; being the oldest one there, and always having been tall for my age, I was playing alone with the sand for the first day. It wasn't until later that I made friends with the other kids, and they commented that I was quite different from my first impression.

Growing up and working has definitely impacted my personality - I am generally less shy than before, but there is still a distinction between the person who operates when working and the one who is behind the daily me. The one who uses the self-checkout, who eats in front of the computer, who walks the store several times over to find an item, the one who sends customer service an email before deciding it would be best to call and then telling customer service on the phone to disregard said email.

Embarrassing moments

Sometimes situations arise where you are asked very specific questions in order for others to understand you more.

I dread these questions because I usually cannot remember either one specific moment, or one that can be defined as the most representative of the question and my experience. When I thought about it later, this came to mind.

What is your most embarrassing moment?

While probably not the most embarrassing thing, it was one witnessed by the most people.
We were watching a movie, and the mad scientist suddenly appeared in the living room and I screamed. In the theatre. My friend, who was crying at an emotional part before this, promptly began to laugh.

The movie was Click. I was 13. Thank goodness the theatre was dark...