Snob? Shy? Pretty? Plain?

I am typically a shy person. I am awkward when meeting new people and I am uncomfortable making conversation with people I don't know very well. My mind works at the speed of light and I am constantly thinking about the words that just came out of my mouth, about what I am currently saying, about what I am going to say next, and at the same time, I'm critiquing my body language. Basically, I'm doing my damndest to appear like I am calm, cool and collected. Because this whole process is a stress to me, throughout my life, I have found it easier to just give a small smile and say very little. Now, friends have told me that before they got to know me, they thought I was a snob and I didn't understand why. But now I do...and I take it as a compliment. Allow me to explain...

You see, I took offense to being called a snob. Snobs, to me, were that group of frou-frou, little-miss-perfect girls in junior and high school that turned their noses up at the rest of us who didn't wear the latest clothes or have perfect hair. I see the term 'snobs' as a negative term and I have never associated myself with that group of girls. Soooooo, what is the difference between calling someone a snob or calling them shy? My dear friends, it comes down to appearance. If a girl is pretty but quiet, she obviously thinks she's better than everyone else so she gets labelled as a snob. BUT, you take a girl who doesn't say very much and who is sort of mousy looking, maybe a pair of glasses, long stringy hair, a few books tucked under her arm....does she get labelled as a snob? No, because she's not attractive enough, she is simply labelled as shy. Long story short...plain people can't be snobs, pretty people can't be just shy. Do you understand now why I would take being called a snob as a compliment? Whoever was calling me that must have thought I was pretty. Ahhh, pulling a positive from a negative...my parents have taught their littlest one well.

And so it "snobbily" goes...


Editor's Note: I have also been called shy on more than one occassion and I don't take it as being an insult...nor should any of the readers of this blog! :)