Free to Be You

Are you generally shy?

I think many of us describe ourselves as shy, but there's a marked difference between being thoroughly introverted and being a bit unsure about what to say or how to act in social situations.

If we have jobs with general outlines about interracting with customers or co-workers, most of us have no problem functioning in those roles.  We probably have a basic understanding that others will recognize when we are "just doing our jobs."

It's when we go out in the social world that uncertainty kicks in.



While on the job, we know that if we don't try, we definitely won't succeed, in the social world, we can simply become comfortably numb rather than making an effort.  Holding a glass of wine in the corner of a party or playing a video game in our room seems easier than smiling and engaging a stranger in conversation.

I think this self-limiting behavior is basically a fear of failing reinforced through school days, when we definitely could expect to see the same people over and over again.  If we made a pass at the wrong person or said something dumb, we thought we might never hear the end of it.

Even in school, however, that was not actually true for most of us.  We might have been the butt of a joke for a couple of days, but when you think about how many memories you have from your teen years, you realize that story cycles must have passed rather quickly.

My group of friends discovered we could be ourselves more comfortably sometimes by getting away from our school.



A girlfriend from that era, Vivi, who attended a nearby high school, once described my somewhat-studious friends Kevin, Chris and me as "being like the Three Stooges," which doesn't sound much like a compliment (especially when you consider we were much more into the Marx Brothers) but at least indicates we were having fun.  Other times, with different friends (or the same ones), perhaps we were considered more musical, poetic, philosophic, athletic, academic or esoteric.

We were just trying out different aspects of ourselves, not being afraid if we crashed and burned, knowing that failing would actually become just another inside joke among the buddies.



What does any of this have to do with cruising?

Well, when you go on a cruise, the people you meet have no pre-conceived notions about who you are, and if you crash and burn, it's not a problem.

In other words, it is not high school.

Most of us aren't nearly so easily pigeon-holed into roles as may be assumed by those we encounter daily, even once we're adults, but we're reluctant to broach new subjects lest we embarrass ourselves.

The best conversations involve engaging others with questions about their lives away from what we know, which for most of us inevitably includes our travels.  This often results in new topics of conversations sprouting.  We discover shared interests and backgrounds, often becoming amazed to find there are less than six degrees of separation.

While we don't talk about it as much as the places we visit, I think most cruisers have found the community on board which accepts us as who we are to be one of the strong allures of the sea.

It's part of the vacation glow that stays with us for months after we return home.  Further, it reminds us that it is safe to reveal more about ourselves and discover new common ground with those in our day-to-day lives.

Are you ready to remember who you are at your best, or perhaps discover who you really could be for the first time?

Let's start planning your next great vacation today.

Better service leads to better trips!