Day 202: Popularity

After work tonight Addie and I walked down to the area of Ilsan down by Juyeop Station to seek out a pet store. Addie wants to buy a cat sometime soon so we wanted to go a'browsin' for kitties. We didn't have much luck in the Finding Cute Inexpensive Kitties Department, but being down there gave us an excuse to go out for dinner to Outback. We went and had an awesome dinner and then headed off to go and see a movie.

We went and saw 'Mean Girls' and it was actually a really good movie. It wasn't emotionally-inspiring or life-changing or anything like that but it was fun and funny and light-hearted and I enjoyed it a good deal. But hey I've *always* been a sucker for those stupid teen movies (just ask any of my friends and they'll verify this, or take a peek at my video collection) so I knew that 'Mean Girl's was gonna be a Scotty-Pleaser. The movie's about girls in high school and what it means to be popular (and mean and bitchy and back-stabbing) and what true friends are all about.

This got me thinking...am I "popular"? Well, if being well-liked and having a lot of friends defines what it means to be popular, than I guess the answer to this would be...yes! Let me explain before I come off sounding arrogant, hehe.

When I was growing up I was so not popular. I was a fairly shy, awkward, geeky kid for a long, long time and never ever felt comfortable in my own skin. I was never in with the popular crowd in elementary or high school, but was lucky enough to have some really awesome friends during those years that got me through (a special big thank you goes to Barb, Sharon, Craig, and Lisa, who I've known since my elementary days at Sherbrooke!) I was particularly unhappy with myself in early high school days and had a few moments/experiences that I don't ever want to re-live and feel uncomfortable just thinking about, but fortunately things started to change mid to late high school. I became more sociable and cared less what other people thought about me.

And I started to become outgoing. By the end of high school I had a really awesome crew of fantastic friends, almost all of which I'm still friends with today. And when I had moved out to Vancouver for university I was given the chance of a lifetime - the chance to re-create yourself into anyone that I wanted to be. I moved to a big city where I didn't know anybody, had no history in at all, and could start off from scratch. Not that I totally transformed myself from head to toe or anything like that, but I decided that I wanted to be an outgoing, confident, uber-sociable person who was friends with everybody. And I was not going to be too shy or scared or unconfident to do it.

By the end of my stay in Vancouver I had the best social life a guy could ever ask for! I had met tons of really amazing people and was so blessed to have made so many wonderful friends. I had lots of friends in a variety of social circles, so that I could always have something to do, regardless of whatever I was in the mood for. Whether it was a serene afternoon of hiking in the local mountains, or a relaxing chill dinner party/game night at someone's apartment, or high-end window shopping on Robson with caramel macchiatos, or a crazy late night out on the town full of alcohol and debauchery with many blurred laughs inbetween, there was always someone I could call. I was almost never bored. And my birthday parties! Wow! I think some of them may have ended up on the cover of 'People' magazine! They were always the social event of the century - every year! hehe! ;-) (some mild exaggeration here, but they were a lot of fun for sure.) I was a confident and happy person who was really satisfied with himself and his life and very thankful for all the great people who were in it.

Coming to Korea was like once again starting over. Only this time I didn't feel any need to have to re-invent/make-over myself. I was full content as exactly who I was. I was Scotty and I liked being me and people seemed to like me too. What more could a guy ask for? Now I've only been here just under seven months and already have a kick-ass social circle. Once again I have a variety of friends in different circles who I can pursue a plethora of activities with, and once again I always have someone to call. I feel pretty popular, both back home and here in Korea, and I really like it. I'm far from perfect or flawless, but I think I'm a pretty cool, nice, out-going, honest guy who's fun to be with, and I like being who I am.

So am I popular?

Bitchy and arrogant and selfish and pig-headed and self-centred and people-user-and-abuser? Definitely not.

Sincere and friendly and appreciative and personable and grateful and so god-damned lucky? You bet.