I’ve brought it up more than once here that I’m not a big fan of New Game. I like it alright, but I couldn’t make it consistently through the first season as my wife was watching it, and the same can be said right now for season two. In series like this, I have to really like the characters, and at first I didn’t care much about any of these girls. But most especially, I disliked Yagami Kou, and I really wanted to like her because, you see, she and I share a birthday. That day is today, in fact (August 2).
I knew about Yagami’s character way before I watched New Game because I ran across birthday fanart for her that I queued to post on my Tumblr today. She seemed the cheery type, and since I no other characters I care about share my birthday (or celebrities either…NO ONE IMPORTANT WAS BORN ON AUGUST 2nd), I decided right away that I would like Yagami.
And then I watched New Game.
Yagami is pretty much everything I don’t like in an anime character. Wikipedia describes her as being laid-back (strike) but stern (strike). And of course, she walks around in her underwear all the time (wut).
My dislike for Yagami reminds me that there are people I don’t like in real life, too. She reminds me that for how often I talk about loving others, I very quickly dislike a certain kind of people when I run into them: the extroverts. I’m talking about the people wayyyy at the end of the extrovert scale. I’ve always found these kind of people instantly annoying and when I meet them in real life, it’s like a switch goes off in my brain; instantly, it’s on “I don’t like you…I don’t like you at all.”
But over and over again in my life, starting with one of my very best friends in college (and I’ve told him before that I hated him when we first met), I’ve realized that being extroverted in not a crime, it’s not something that makes you a lesser person, it doesn’t even make you annoying. It’s just part of who you are, and who you are might be someone really incredible.
The truth is, of course, that I’m the one who has the problem, coming instantly to judgement instead of being open and kind. It’s amazing to me that after all these years, and all these times that I’ve been humbled, that I still need more humility. Loads of it. But I hope that bit by bit, I’m getting to a place where my first reaction isn’t to judge, but to love. I think I’ll get there – it just might take one extrovert at a time.
*By the way, I do like Yagami a lot more now than I did at first. I wish she would put on some pants, though.
Have an extroverted sister has been a blessing for so many reasons—including that it makes me respond to other extroverts a lot better. I’ve been trained since a young age, so I’m less easily annoyed than I could be. It’s still not always easy, though. I do best when I can meet them, talk, and be done with them for a month (or until one of us can be of practical use to the other). Or when they come to understand my introversion and I learn I can trust them not to push me except in the best of ways.
The worst is when I’m dodging these extroverts at church, which I end up feeling convicted about: “My sweet Christian brother, I know you want to connect, and I know you are probably a bit lonely, but I really, really, really don’t want to connect or demonstrate love or do anything except flee this group of lovely humans and cuddle with my dog.” Yeah… not very loving. I have a very long ways to go.
So, extroverts are actually God’s gracious gift to you and me? I’ll try picturing them as such from now on, and maybe that will help a bit haha.
Thanks for sharing, Annalyn. 🙂
If nothing else, extroverts are very useful (my sister and I work great together now). And sometimes amusing. And definitely good teachers of patience. So yes, God’s gracious gift. XD
As the weirdest of weird people, an autistic extrovert, I salute your attempt to make sense of us. XD Ironically, a loud, obnoxious personality may actually belong to a fair number of introverts (as two people I know demonstrate by showing up in bursts of activity and then retreating into an introvert hole) as well. I’ve always been sort of the opposite: fond of people who know what they want and who they are enough to be brimming with confidence in social situations. Still, if you ever need pro tips on how to deal with our never-ending self-absorbed chatter, you can come to me. ;]
Haha, thank you. I need some practice, and lots of grace. 🙂
Extroverts… I would say I´m more of an introvert, more so as a teenager, but kind of a hybrid. I was a debator and an actor in University and had no problem with that, I´m confortable talking to new people, I´ve no difficulty to make good friends, but there are a lot of things I prefer to do on my own, and I tend to be shy with new groups. That said, I´m the eldest of ten brothers and sisters with very different personalities: I suposse some social skills were almost forced on me when growing up. I´ve yet to see this show: I felt that way more than once about “cool thieve” characters in films.
August 2nd. Well, aside from being the day Hitler becames president of Germany (ahem, let´s forget that one), the day Iraq invaded Kuwait, U.S. President Warren Harding´s heart attack and Hannibal beating the Romans at Cannae, in Spain it´s the day of the Martyrs of Barbastro, a group of Catholic priests and laymen killed because of their faith during the repression of the Spanish Civil War. Anyway, happy birthday! God bless you. As for me, I´ve recently watched Unlimited Blade Works, which I found amazing (“even if I cannot become my ideal, I´ll always hope and fight for a world where everyone is saved”, that´s hopeful), and just bought and installed Little Busters VN in my computer, so my summer vacation can begin.
I’m similar to you – I’m not near either end of the introversion/extroversion scale, so I exhibits facets that might seem to tend toward one side or another.
Thanks for sharing – lots of interesting events…not all good haha. And have fun with Little Busters! My only experience has been the anime, which I could NOT make it through (I made it so far, and wanted to see the end, but it just bored me to death), though the word is that the VN is just absolutely amazing.