Do It Weird

Just do it until they get used to it, is a motto I used for myself during my days of being shy and trying to overcome it.

Someone had mentioned today that they're so shy, to the extent where they can't even wear sunglasses in public, because they feel it would attract unnecessary attention to themselves. When I saw that, I immediately related to that feeling because there used to be a time when I used to be that way too.

_{photo by charlesdeluvio}

Whenever I had an event to attend as a kid, maybe like a birthday party of a friend. And my mom had gotten me a pair of fancy eyeglasses to fit whatever dress code I was going with. I would intentionally not put on the glasses until I got to an area where there were fewer people or a place where no one knew me; only then would I be comfortable enough to then put them on.

But when I eventually made up my mind to overcome such fear, I did the only thing I felt could work. I started wearing the glasses at random times. I didn't just wear it for fashion anymore; I wore it when I had nowhere to go, wore it when I only had my singlet on, wore it with no top on, and I did all of this in public or at least outside my home.

At first people would see it and laugh; some would ask if I was good, and we would all joke about it, but as time went on, they all began to get used to it, and slowly the chatter died down, and all of a sudden no one was talking anymore. They were now used to the madness that it was no longer seen as such.

And that was it. Ever since then, I could wear my glasses anywhere, and no one would make any jokes about it or try to tease me about it. That was when I realized that sometimes, in order to get over something, you just have to keep on doing it, even if you do it weird, like wearing sunglasses on a day with no sun and with no tops on.