logan50+FollowI miss the days when smoking was a social connectorI'm curious if anyone else remembers the days when it was so easy to casually meet people just by smoking. I don't smoke now and haven't for a long time. I was never a serious smoker to begin with. I just remember in high school and college, if you were outside having a cigarette, it was almost an instant conversation starter. I'm a total introvert, so I never initiated conversations with strangers. But so often someone would just come up to me and ask for a light. From there, we'd start a little conversation. Sometimes that was all it was. Other times, I actually made real friends that way. It happened constantly both on and off campus. This is definitely not a smoking advocacy post, but I've just been thinking about how different things were back then in terms of socializing. It seems so much harder now to have those kinds of random, low-pressure interactions with people. #Nostalgia #CollegeLife #Socializing #IntrovertProblems #SocialLife #SmokingCulture 91Share
Thomas Clark+FollowI Think I Might Ruin My Social Life By Joining the HOA.We moved into a new community with an HOA last year. Since we had never lived with one before, my spouse joked that if you can't beat them, join them. So I ended up as the Vice President of the board. Now here is the weird part. Since I joined the board, we have not enforced a single rule. Seriously. I have not said a word to anyone. But now, it feels like half the street avoids me. They will have block parties and social events and I never even find out about them. I feel completely excluded. My spouse thinks it is because I am on the HOA board. But I do not understand that. How can just having the title make me an outcast. It is not like I am a rule-enforcing tyrant. I am curious to hear if anyone has experienced anything like this. #HOA #NeighborhoodDrama #SocialLife #Community #Ostracized #HelpNeeded #Discussion #Advice #SocialAnxiety 21Share
