EarthBound: Now we're talkin'!
It happens to the best of us. You're with a friend, chillin', waiting for the bus, or enjoying an espresso, when the worst-case scenario hits: the conversation goes dead! The amazing thing about awkward silence is that the longer it goes on, the harder it is to break. Unfortunately, I have been in quite a few cases where the conversation has died, and it has been quite uncomfortable. I'll even try to break the silence by saying something witty. Sometimes it works. More often than not, it doesn't work (now, now, it's not because my wit is corny and horrible, that's a story for another time). In my desperation during one dead conversation, I blurted "Hey, have you ever heard of EarthBound?" The first time I ever used this one to break the silence, I thought I has just nailed my own casket shut. However, I found that it worked. It broke the silence, and I was able to talk about EarthBound for quite a while, and then the conversation moved along again. "What an interesting phenomenon," I thought to myself. So I had to try it again.
Interestingly enough, it worked. And it worked a third time, as well. Within my loose circle of friends, there are many personality quirks that make for interesting conversation, if you can draw them out from behind my friends' insecurities. I, being the dauntless and foolhardy social idiot that I am, do not need coaxing to reveal my love for EarthBound. It comes out naturally, and it saves the conversation. Who wouldn't want to hear about my obsession with a video game, about how I live my life everyday in some connection to this video game, and how I've labored hours over fan projects centered around this video game? It's scandalous! It's sensational! But most of all, it's quirky, and people in this society are entertained and enamored by having other people's quirks revealed to them. It drives some of the most successful chronicles of today's society, like Reality Television and celebrity-chasing magazines. My telling the story of EarthBound in my life to others is as entertaining to them as Reality Television or magazines.
Instead of faces of disgust or disinterest, I find people captivated, often egging me on to speak more about it. Will they use it as blackmail against me? Will they tell their friends how weird I am? Or will they wait until I've blurted every gooey detail about my infatuation with EarthBound so that they can laugh at me? Most of the time, that hasn't been the case. But I wouldn�t care if any of those happened, because I like EarthBound, and ain't nobody gonna change that, blackmailing, gossiping, or laughing. And I'd rather have that than having never told anyone about it. It's who I am, and I can't hide who I am.
Would I bring this topic to any conversation? Probably not. If I were on the hottest date of my life, I'd probably whip out one of those cheesy romantic lines at a lull in the conversation, instead of "Did I ever tell you that I'm a lot like Ness from EarthBound for the SUPAR NINTENDOH!?!?" (I'd save that one for the second date). However, I've found that when I expected the EarthBound tidbit to be shot down and frowned upon, I was pleasantly surprised by the contrary. It could be because many of my friends are of the nerdy persuasion, but I also feel that the society we live in, which was once projected as cold and unforgiving to those who sought unpopular hobbies and lifestyles, is welcoming to those who have offbeat interests and quirks. In other words, I can talk about EarthBound without getting shunned and stuck by paper signs saying "KICK ME".
Can I guarantee this for you? Unfortunately, no. I am a college student in a very liberal and diverse environment, surrounded by very socially secure individuals. Many of you may be captive of middle schools and high schools, which are usually filled with kids who process their insecurities by defaming others at every turn. And unfortunately, to bring up something like EarthBound to many of these people is like handing them a loaded gun. Perhaps those of you for whom this qualifies have a group of friends who are more accepting of an interest as offbeat (and as cool) as EarthBound. (Note: if this group of friends carries on frenzied debates over anime series, video game consoles, or comic books, you�re probably cleared to talk about EarthBound!)
If you're like me, you get into a lot of conversations that can drop off into silence. So next time you�re there, take a good look at who you're talking to, and if your audience looks appropriate, try bringing up EarthBound. It's quirky, it's interesting, it's magically funtastic! You may find that EarthBound is, in fact, a very interesting tale to tell, and to have that quirk publicly attached to you can be quite exciting ("Oh yeah, that's the guy who likes EarthBound!"). I've even had others bring EarthBound up in subsequent conversations. I try to be as helpful and encouraging as possible. I've even had one case where someone asked me if I could show him EarthBound. To that I replied, "Now we're talkin'!"
It happens to the best of us. You're with a friend, chillin', waiting for the bus, or enjoying an espresso, when the worst-case scenario hits: the conversation goes dead! The amazing thing about awkward silence is that the longer it goes on, the harder it is to break. Unfortunately, I have been in quite a few cases where the conversation has died, and it has been quite uncomfortable. I'll even try to break the silence by saying something witty. Sometimes it works. More often than not, it doesn't work (now, now, it's not because my wit is corny and horrible, that's a story for another time). In my desperation during one dead conversation, I blurted "Hey, have you ever heard of EarthBound?" The first time I ever used this one to break the silence, I thought I has just nailed my own casket shut. However, I found that it worked. It broke the silence, and I was able to talk about EarthBound for quite a while, and then the conversation moved along again. "What an interesting phenomenon," I thought to myself. So I had to try it again.
Interestingly enough, it worked. And it worked a third time, as well. Within my loose circle of friends, there are many personality quirks that make for interesting conversation, if you can draw them out from behind my friends' insecurities. I, being the dauntless and foolhardy social idiot that I am, do not need coaxing to reveal my love for EarthBound. It comes out naturally, and it saves the conversation. Who wouldn't want to hear about my obsession with a video game, about how I live my life everyday in some connection to this video game, and how I've labored hours over fan projects centered around this video game? It's scandalous! It's sensational! But most of all, it's quirky, and people in this society are entertained and enamored by having other people's quirks revealed to them. It drives some of the most successful chronicles of today's society, like Reality Television and celebrity-chasing magazines. My telling the story of EarthBound in my life to others is as entertaining to them as Reality Television or magazines.
Instead of faces of disgust or disinterest, I find people captivated, often egging me on to speak more about it. Will they use it as blackmail against me? Will they tell their friends how weird I am? Or will they wait until I've blurted every gooey detail about my infatuation with EarthBound so that they can laugh at me? Most of the time, that hasn't been the case. But I wouldn�t care if any of those happened, because I like EarthBound, and ain't nobody gonna change that, blackmailing, gossiping, or laughing. And I'd rather have that than having never told anyone about it. It's who I am, and I can't hide who I am.
Would I bring this topic to any conversation? Probably not. If I were on the hottest date of my life, I'd probably whip out one of those cheesy romantic lines at a lull in the conversation, instead of "Did I ever tell you that I'm a lot like Ness from EarthBound for the SUPAR NINTENDOH!?!?" (I'd save that one for the second date). However, I've found that when I expected the EarthBound tidbit to be shot down and frowned upon, I was pleasantly surprised by the contrary. It could be because many of my friends are of the nerdy persuasion, but I also feel that the society we live in, which was once projected as cold and unforgiving to those who sought unpopular hobbies and lifestyles, is welcoming to those who have offbeat interests and quirks. In other words, I can talk about EarthBound without getting shunned and stuck by paper signs saying "KICK ME".
Can I guarantee this for you? Unfortunately, no. I am a college student in a very liberal and diverse environment, surrounded by very socially secure individuals. Many of you may be captive of middle schools and high schools, which are usually filled with kids who process their insecurities by defaming others at every turn. And unfortunately, to bring up something like EarthBound to many of these people is like handing them a loaded gun. Perhaps those of you for whom this qualifies have a group of friends who are more accepting of an interest as offbeat (and as cool) as EarthBound. (Note: if this group of friends carries on frenzied debates over anime series, video game consoles, or comic books, you�re probably cleared to talk about EarthBound!)
If you're like me, you get into a lot of conversations that can drop off into silence. So next time you�re there, take a good look at who you're talking to, and if your audience looks appropriate, try bringing up EarthBound. It's quirky, it's interesting, it's magically funtastic! You may find that EarthBound is, in fact, a very interesting tale to tell, and to have that quirk publicly attached to you can be quite exciting ("Oh yeah, that's the guy who likes EarthBound!"). I've even had others bring EarthBound up in subsequent conversations. I try to be as helpful and encouraging as possible. I've even had one case where someone asked me if I could show him EarthBound. To that I replied, "Now we're talkin'!"
