Shy or Not So Shy?

"Were you shy as a kid?" His dark green eyes waited for my response, and I waited for an answer to surface from within, but one didn't, so I made something up.

It's not that I lied. But rather, I skirted around the question - stumbling may way through a less than articulate response when I should have simply stated the truth - I don't know.

However, I determined that I would do some research and get back to him.

The following day I called my parents and asked them the question, but they weren't much help. They only reminded me that my siblings, especially my big sis, were extremely talkative, so I didn't get much of an opportunity to say anything as a kid - at least not at home.

But that doesn't necessarily make one shy. Then again, what exactly does shy mean?

Dictionary.com definition #8
shy: not bearing or breeding freely, as plants or animals.

Yeah, I'm definitely not shy in that sort of way. I don't breed freely. Nor do I have any kids.

I considered a childhood friend might know the answer, so I looked up my friend Abigail on facebook and left her a comment.

"someone recently asked me if i was shy as a kid... i didn't really know how to answer that... any insight from our time together in preschool?"

Abigail replied, "You weren't shy as a kid or overly loud from what i can remember. You are pretty much the same now i guess..."

Dictionary.com definition #7
shy: indebted to the pot

Hmmm... pot. As in weed? The toilet? The pot on the stove?

Oh wait, there is a clarifier - the pot, as in poker. Yeah, I don't play poker. But the guy who taught me to surf does. He's a professional, actually; you can watch him on TV. I had a crush on him once - for about 24 hours. I even wrote a cheesy song about it - it's entitled "That One Day." (I'd post the lyrics, but I left them in California.)

But speaking of guys, until I was about 17ish, I would say I was shy around guys; in fact, I'd even go as far as to say I was awkward around guys (oh wait, I still am). But seriously though, I remember 8th grade, when I liked that football player, but I was too scared to talk to him. Thankfully he wasn't too scared to talk to me. Because he asked me to dance with him at that junior high dance. I still recall the Bon Jovi Song that we slow danced to, "And I will love you, baby - Always..."

Funny thing is, a few years ago he actually did tell me that he loved me. But the love he spoke of is of different kind. It's the "I care deeply about you love," not the I want to marry you and have hot sex with you love.

So yes, I was shy around guys as a kid, or at least in junior high and high school. Nowadays I'm probably not shy enough around men.

(And we'll finish this post at another time)


It wasn't until I my mid-twenties that I was confidant enough to carry or enter a conversation at our family dinners. I didn't want to try and compete. And raising my hand to speak didn't seem to work. Perhaps because they thought I was stretching...