Last night was my Seminary graduation. Consequently, I had to speak at it. I was only one of two speakers, so if someone didn't know who I was, they did by the time refreshment and "social hour" came around following the graduation ceremony. And the place was full of old people. And do you know what old people like? Small talk. And do you know what Jessica doesn't like? You guessed it. Small talk! I had countless people come up to me and congratulate me on graduating from HS, and asking me what my plans were all that good stuff. So there were some who went about it in the right way and actually asked me questions. And then there were THOSE people. Let me give you an example of my experience with one of THOSE people.
I am standing in the middle of the gym, surrounded by three people all talking about how they just can't believe I've grown up! Oh, tear, tear. Gag. And then I began to walk away, trying to escape. Suddenly, a hand grabs my arm, and I am suddenly face to face with one of THOSE. She looks me in the eye, probably not even knowing my name, and says, "Congratulations." And I say, "Thank you." And then she stares. She doesn't say anything. She simply stares at me, like I"m supposed to say more. Hello! You are the one who came and talked to me! It's like when you make a phone call. The person who called is supposed to end the conversation. It's simple etiquitte. Oh my gosh, I wanted to die because of THOSE people.
And then of course, there is the fakeness. I feel so fake at those things. I mean, how many times can you say thank you before your smile forms to your face? At one point I started getting tired of it, and when one really nice lady said, "good job on your talk." I just laughed and said, "Haha. Thanks." She looked a little suprised, but by that point, I didn't care. By the end of the night I felt like I had left my true self somewhere else for an hour as I paraded around the gym with my pearly whites and gracious signs of gratitude.
And another thing. Almost every single woman that talked to me said something relating to marriage. "Oh, you'll find the perfect man and he'll sweep you off your feet!" or "They're going to be lining up next year for you!" or "Honey, at least last a year, won't ya?" But the worst was when a woman said, "Heck, if I was a man, I'd want you." Okay. Can you say creepy? So, basically everyone expects me to get married soon. It was like that was all that mattered to them. Find a nice, clean Mormon boy to marry and have lots of babies. Well, I do plan on doing that (I don't know about the LOTS of babies part) but there is something called an education that I plan on completing first. At least I think that's why I'm going to college next year......
Small talk: Hate it. Fakeness in myself: loathe it. Marriage: Detest it for now, at least.
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