Читать книгу They Let Me Write a Book!: Jamie’s World - Jamie Curry - Страница 8
ОглавлениеPlease Don’t Bully the Poor Kid in the Cowboy Hat
‘IT COULD HAVE BEEN THAT I WORE A COWBOY HAT FOR SEVERAL YEARS STRAIGHT … BUT WE’LL NEVER REALLY KNOW WHY I STRUGGLED TO MAKE FRIENDS.’
EVERYONE I’M FRIENDS WITH NOW ALWAYS teases me about what I used to be like. They all thought I was so weird, and they still remind me of that constantly now. I don’t know what it was. Could have been the sportiness. Could have been that I didn’t brush my hair for a year. It could have been that I wore a cowboy hat for several years straight … but we’ll never really know why I struggled to make friends.
Jamie’s tried and tested advice for social situation nerves
I was a really weird kid, and I’ve grown into a really weird adult. But I’m a child of the Internet, and the Internet is full of useful life hacks. I’ve assembled some of my tried and tested life hacks to combat nerves in social situations. Hopefully, they are helpful to you or anyone else you know cowering behind their customised cowboy hat.
Don’t be a lone wolf, be a wolf pack
Don’t isolate yourself from the situation by standing far away from everyone. If you stand next to a group of people that are talking, eventually they will bring you in if they are good people. Even if it takes months, years. Wait it out, be a magnet to them and eventually something’s gotta stick.
Turn on your Chatty Cathy radar and pounce
Find the loudest person in the room and stand next to them; you’ll at least get a healthy tan from their radiant confidence. And they’ll talk to you, because they’ll talk to anyone. You can practise saying things to them, and it won’t matter if you muck up because they will not be listening to you 100% of the time.
Don’t rush, slow it down to Chinatown
The world isn’t actually going to explode if you don’t say something witty, smart or cool in the next five seconds. Feel free to think long and hard before you say things. Take your sweet time talking if it’s something that you need to do to feel more confident. People can wait, just don’t take hours to ask someone what time it is. It will be way later by the time the question is over, and will just confuse everyone.
Find your feet, and when I say feet I mean voice
I know it might be cliché, but I’ve learnt it’s really hard to write a book without at least a few making it in. The main thing, as we’ve been told since the cavemen wrote the first motivational quote on the wall, is BE YOURSELF. If you feel awkward, embrace the awkwardness. I’m still as awkward as that kid eating lunch alone, I’ve just learnt that nobody really cares. People are too involved in themselves most of the time anyway. Just let rip and see what happens.
Oh yeah, so I guess we should talk about my weird hat thing. I wore hats constantly growing up, I had so many. Dad used to travel a lot and bring me baseball caps from around the world. My particular favourite was a cowboy hat that I used to wear absolutely everywhere. I would draw flowers on it, pin up the sides all different ways. I tried to seal off my drawings on the hat with superglue, which made it kind of chunky and even more dirty looking. Very chic. It was filthy anyway because I used to wear it in any and every situation. It became kind of my ‘thing’. You know, Miley pokes her tongue out, Lorde has dark lipstick, Jamie has a decomposing cowboy hat. We’re all the same.
‘MILEY POKES HER TONGUE OUT, LORDE HAS DARK LIPSTICK, JAMIE HAS A DECOMPOSING COWBOY HAT.’
MUM’S TAKE
Even the hat can’t fight the shade
‘Jamie always wore hats, ever since she was about one year old. She didn’t wear her hat to kindergarten one day and the teacher had to ask who she was. Everyone would say, “She’s got such a pretty little face when she doesn’t have a hat on.”’
It was really tough feeling isolated when I was younger. But at the same time, I think it was good for me. The isolation gave me some fire. I became really determined to not be a loser at some point in my life. I used to always just sit there quietly and think about how these people won’t really exist after I’m done with school. I just kept telling myself that one day I would grow up, move away and be better than them. I channelled all my energy and alone time into making something cool, and that was my ultimate payback. Now I’m making something cool and successful out of my weirdness, and I have them to thank for that. In a way.
‘I CHANNELLED ALL MY ENERGY AND ALONE TIME INTO MAKING SOMETHING COOL, AND THAT WAS MY ULTIMATE PAYBACK.’
If you are in this situation — just remember that bullies are the worst. Sit it out now, but give them ten years — they’ll be sorry. Have a game plan, and get them back by being better than them. It’s a pretty sweet long-term plan, you just have to commit.
‘HAVE A GAME PLAN, AND GET THEM BACK BY BEING BETTER THAN THEM.’
I always think about myself sitting there alone and feeling sad in my cowboy hat. It got me thinking that, if you ever find yourself alone for some reason and needing an activity, it might be fun to add some colour and cheer to your life. Sure, you can fiddle on your phone all you like — but what about a COLOURING-IN COMPETITION?
Colour in this glamorous picture of yours truly and see how fast the time passes. Why not even give it an Instagram and see who else has attempted this great artistic venture? It sounds kiddy, but colouring-in pages are actually making a huge comeback. Trust me, I know about what’s cool and hip. I listen to Elton John and Third Eye Blind. You can trust me.
COLOUR ME IN!
