one of my secret resolutions (heh) is to try to be a little more active and/or social when it comes to AR and veganism. today i rsvp'd for our local vegan pseudo-meetup, which i've considered going to a bunch of times, but never followed through.
it's lame that i get so shy, especially because these meetups are kind of "hosted" by the campus/community group that i'm affiliated with, but i can't help it. so, i'm trying to do better. this lunch is step one. the fur demo the following weekend may be step two, who knows.
anyway, the best part is that i've already been rewarded for my courage! one of my VRF pals, who lives about an hour away, has decided to come in for the lunch on saturday as well. yay, meeting VRF peeps!
The hardest AR/veg leaflet to give out is the first one. I totally understand the shyness thing, but what helps me is that it's perhaps not really me going to the event or handing out the leaflet -- I am the representative for the animals. And if I'm going to a social event related to AR, it's to help other ARAs be stronger so we can all be stronger for the animals.
I know it's kind of schizoid, but the distancing between the real, vulnerable me and the outreach me is a valuable coping mechanism. Have fun at the meetup!
Posted by: quagga | 04 January 2007 at 11:29 PM
I was really shy as a child, though most people think I'm joking when I tell them that now. But it is true, and it is still in me - it comes out very often when I have to make phone calls (or even receive them!), and in situations like a meetup with a new group.
I honestly don't know if I would have gone to my first fur protest if I didn't already know the people running them! And we had a meetup first, so I was able to walk over with other people. Little things like this are huge, and make the first contact so much easier.
Awesome that your friend is going to go to the lunch! And then hopefully your sister will go to the fur protest with you, and you will have made two relatively painless contacts with the AR/Vegan groups. :)
Posted by: Deb | 05 January 2007 at 07:29 AM
Don't worry, meetups freak me out, too. I'm not shy because I have no problem having conversations strangers all the time, but when it comes to groups it kind of seems overwhelming to me. We'll have a great time tomorrow. I can't wait!
Posted by: Flower | 05 January 2007 at 12:38 PM
flower, i'm so excited to meet you!
this whole phenomenon is so weird/frustrating to me... i've blogged about it before, a few times, but i don't have a true handle on it. i'm not really a shy person, but there are certain situations that make me instantly self-conscious... i guess this is one of them. i don't have any vegans in my "in-person network," so trying to be more active (socially) is a great idea in theory... hopefully once i get my foot in the door it will seem easier!
Posted by: girl least likely to | 05 January 2007 at 09:05 PM