Void of Infinity
Active Member
This is something I have been thinking about lately, and it goes back to my High School days. It will be quite the extensive post, so bear with me.
To start with general details, I did not make a lot of friends in High School nor did I socialize too often but I did occasionally. The most friends I ever made were in my Sophomore and Junior years, with the majority being from the latter via a creative writing class that I remember was recommended for me in a meeting in the former year mentioned. Outside of the classroom is when I barely socialized because most people I did not know so I shut them out.
Except for the time I made my writing friends, even when I was in class, I did not socialize very much because the majority of my peers did not come out to me as people I cared to hang out with. The one thing I remember most is how many of my peers acted as if they were still in Elementary or Middle school, and, although I can say that across all of my High School years not everyone was acting their ages, this is more true of my Sophomore and Junior years. More than one teacher got their nerves tested and they lost patience, but this was not the case in every single class. Looking back, I suppose I can say that this is one reason why I distanced myself from others, but there are other cases that bear mention as well.
Among these are the times when, both in class and out, people that I did not even know would ask me if I was mad at them, and I got asked this so often that I grew very tired of it. One guy asked me it enough times that I eventually questioned him why he kept asking and he stopped, but I only remember him saying sorry and that is it. Another time was when a girl had come up to me when I had been eating a lunch, which I would eventually stop doing during my break, and despite me never having met her before that, acted as if were the best of friends. She would eventually lead me to her group of friends, none of whom I had ever met nor even recognized, and even introduced me to someone I assumed was one of her teachers. All the while I was asking myself why I was even there and who she and her friends were, and, lo and behold, when I start distancing myself a little, she too comes up to me one day and asks me if I am mad at her, when really all I want is for her to just go away although I never said it.
The friends I mentioned making in my creative writing class are the ones that I ended up hanging out with both during and after class. Unlike everyone else mentioned, we all had writing in common and our teacher was one of the most laid back I remember ever having. Even when we got together after class, I did not say much if anything, and one day I was on the edge of the group but was still noticed when someone talked to me, while on another I was in the middle of everyone but when everyone dispersed two of them said bye to me. They were all Seniors while I was a Junior, and it was the most socially active I ever was during High School. When the end of the year came, I broke down in tears because I was so sad that they were leaving, and when Senior year came is when, to an extent, I shut everyone else out completely. My Junior/Senior English teacher was the same guy, and I found out that he left his room door unlocked, and I would go in there and just sleep through my lunch break being the only one in there.
That same year (Junior) I had been invited to a house party by some of my peers in a U.S History class. Comparing and Contrasting my creative writing class and my history class, I was much more socially active in the former than I was in the latter. I turned down the party invitation and I remember the girl next to me saying that they were trying to be my friends but I kept shutting them out. While I hold no regret to declining the invitation, I will confess that I have a tinge of guilt because they seemed like cool people, but when it comes to parties in general, they are not my thing and I envision that they are environments I have no wish to place myself into. Had they invited me to something else, or offered to hang out with me at the school itself, I might have said yes.
Fast forward to today, it has been 10 years since I graduated High School and I am living with my family in a small college town, having moved here only a few years ago. At the local University, I have taken four classes so far (one each semester) and have met a few new people. In contrast with my High School years, however, despite me trying to make some friends at the University, I have not been as successful as I wanted. There are some people that have had to go to work after class, then there are others whom I have wanted to exchange messages with over the University's email system, and despite them saying they would get back to me, never did. There was also a girl that I had wanted to talk to in Fall 2016 whom I had a class with, and I waited out the conversation she was in, but it was the way I did so that made her uncomfortable because I kept staring back at her which she obviously noticed me doing. She confronted me about it and had made the assumption that I was wanting to be flirtatious with her, and through it all I met her boyfriend, but they remained cool about the whole thing and walked off after we talked a little. I felt guilty enough to send a letter of apology, which she said they accepted, but it was the way the incident went down that stung me most. Given all of this makes me not want to socialize too much with my peers at the University, although I have had a great time talking to a couple of my teachers every now and then.
So, thinking back to all of this, it seems like I connect better with the older generation better than my own. I enjoyed talking to my teachers back in High School, and I enjoy the discussions I have with a couple of my teachers at my University too.
Anyone else feel as if they connect better to another generation more than their own? On a somewhat related note, I have even been giving it consideration to join an online dating site exclusive between younger men and older women; I saw the thread about dating sites, but I do not think I can add anything to that thread.
To start with general details, I did not make a lot of friends in High School nor did I socialize too often but I did occasionally. The most friends I ever made were in my Sophomore and Junior years, with the majority being from the latter via a creative writing class that I remember was recommended for me in a meeting in the former year mentioned. Outside of the classroom is when I barely socialized because most people I did not know so I shut them out.
Except for the time I made my writing friends, even when I was in class, I did not socialize very much because the majority of my peers did not come out to me as people I cared to hang out with. The one thing I remember most is how many of my peers acted as if they were still in Elementary or Middle school, and, although I can say that across all of my High School years not everyone was acting their ages, this is more true of my Sophomore and Junior years. More than one teacher got their nerves tested and they lost patience, but this was not the case in every single class. Looking back, I suppose I can say that this is one reason why I distanced myself from others, but there are other cases that bear mention as well.
Among these are the times when, both in class and out, people that I did not even know would ask me if I was mad at them, and I got asked this so often that I grew very tired of it. One guy asked me it enough times that I eventually questioned him why he kept asking and he stopped, but I only remember him saying sorry and that is it. Another time was when a girl had come up to me when I had been eating a lunch, which I would eventually stop doing during my break, and despite me never having met her before that, acted as if were the best of friends. She would eventually lead me to her group of friends, none of whom I had ever met nor even recognized, and even introduced me to someone I assumed was one of her teachers. All the while I was asking myself why I was even there and who she and her friends were, and, lo and behold, when I start distancing myself a little, she too comes up to me one day and asks me if I am mad at her, when really all I want is for her to just go away although I never said it.
The friends I mentioned making in my creative writing class are the ones that I ended up hanging out with both during and after class. Unlike everyone else mentioned, we all had writing in common and our teacher was one of the most laid back I remember ever having. Even when we got together after class, I did not say much if anything, and one day I was on the edge of the group but was still noticed when someone talked to me, while on another I was in the middle of everyone but when everyone dispersed two of them said bye to me. They were all Seniors while I was a Junior, and it was the most socially active I ever was during High School. When the end of the year came, I broke down in tears because I was so sad that they were leaving, and when Senior year came is when, to an extent, I shut everyone else out completely. My Junior/Senior English teacher was the same guy, and I found out that he left his room door unlocked, and I would go in there and just sleep through my lunch break being the only one in there.
That same year (Junior) I had been invited to a house party by some of my peers in a U.S History class. Comparing and Contrasting my creative writing class and my history class, I was much more socially active in the former than I was in the latter. I turned down the party invitation and I remember the girl next to me saying that they were trying to be my friends but I kept shutting them out. While I hold no regret to declining the invitation, I will confess that I have a tinge of guilt because they seemed like cool people, but when it comes to parties in general, they are not my thing and I envision that they are environments I have no wish to place myself into. Had they invited me to something else, or offered to hang out with me at the school itself, I might have said yes.
Fast forward to today, it has been 10 years since I graduated High School and I am living with my family in a small college town, having moved here only a few years ago. At the local University, I have taken four classes so far (one each semester) and have met a few new people. In contrast with my High School years, however, despite me trying to make some friends at the University, I have not been as successful as I wanted. There are some people that have had to go to work after class, then there are others whom I have wanted to exchange messages with over the University's email system, and despite them saying they would get back to me, never did. There was also a girl that I had wanted to talk to in Fall 2016 whom I had a class with, and I waited out the conversation she was in, but it was the way I did so that made her uncomfortable because I kept staring back at her which she obviously noticed me doing. She confronted me about it and had made the assumption that I was wanting to be flirtatious with her, and through it all I met her boyfriend, but they remained cool about the whole thing and walked off after we talked a little. I felt guilty enough to send a letter of apology, which she said they accepted, but it was the way the incident went down that stung me most. Given all of this makes me not want to socialize too much with my peers at the University, although I have had a great time talking to a couple of my teachers every now and then.
So, thinking back to all of this, it seems like I connect better with the older generation better than my own. I enjoyed talking to my teachers back in High School, and I enjoy the discussions I have with a couple of my teachers at my University too.
Anyone else feel as if they connect better to another generation more than their own? On a somewhat related note, I have even been giving it consideration to join an online dating site exclusive between younger men and older women; I saw the thread about dating sites, but I do not think I can add anything to that thread.
