J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of Rings, created a place called Middle Earth for his books. It was an imaginary period in Earth's past. When asked if this creative world was in a different era of time, he responded "No. A different type of reality, yes." And really, I think we all have our own version of a personal Middle Earth. Let's call it middle ground in other words.
The words I would use to describe my social network are diverse and random. From ethnicity to extracurricular activities, the group of people I would call my aquaitenences and friends are about as similar as elephants are to mice. And which popularity crew you fit in with is developed at that age when cliques become something you worry about. At least where I spent my puberty, the freaks at table 9 didn't really hang much with the letter jackets. And in most high schools the social groups are pretty well defined the same way.
But every so often there comes along a highbred of human interaction. Someone that learns to adapt socially to their surroundings. That can keep up with both the socials and the greasers. Not sure that it can be taught, but I think it is one of the most important qualities an adolescent can acquire while battling acne and trying to find a prom date. You see by learning to flex to different personality types, one does not only open doors in their social scene, but it absolutely can assist at the water cooler when the bossman (or woman) wants to chat about this crazy weather we've been having.
How does this happen? Like I said, it's not something that is easily taught, but a lot of it has to do with being diverse in your interests and conversationally meeting up with people where they feel comfortable. In other words, know your audience when dialoging. Even if they consider the act of trying a new casserole recipe as an exciting weekend, the person you're talking to has genuine interests. Your job as a conversational sponge is to find out and ask them about what fits their fancy. Find their middle ground and show enthusiasm towards the things that make them tick. Even if you are a terrible person, this simple social tweak will make you seem bearable in conversation.
To summarize, you don't have to be a smooth operator or sales person to discuss efficiently with all kinds of kinds. Just make an effort to find out what your talking partner is passionate about and ask away. Find a middle ground. Pretty complicated right? Yep.
New in my life: Fortunately, aliens do exists. Looking forward to this coming lobstering season. Ser feliz.
Keep smilin'
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