Conversation Starter.

Not one month ago, my journal was used as an escape outlet.

Surrounded by a sea of people I knew but didn’t know I pulled my journal out of my purse and occupied my time by filling its pages with the thoughts running through my head that I didn’t have a face to share them with.

I’ve done this once or twice before. In an attempt to distract myself from facing the social awkwardness that often comes when I’m in a situation in which I’m the black sheep, I tear through my bag in search of my journal and relief floods through me as I put pen to paper and write out my discomfort.

All too aware that I sometimes avoid potentially incredible conversations (but most likely not since most of the situations in which I do this involve being in a bar setting and I definitely want to avoid being bombarded by a drunk doofus), I began to mull this particular avoidance strategy the other day as I sat with my coffee, writing in my journal just willing someone to come over and chat with me.

And guess what.

It worked.

In an ironic turn of events, the very document in which I commonly use to avoid social situations turned out to be the magnet that begot conversation. On top of that, it was this document that ended up being the conversation starter. A simple “What are you working on?” opened the doors and conversation about my writing ensued.

Now I wasn’t avoiding this conversation, per say, but I was nervous as to how to proceed with someone I really wanted to talk to and get to know. I’m not the greatest small talk socialite, so I did what I do best when I’m awkward and I wrote, which magically turned out to be the prologue to our chit chat.

As we began to talk, I opened up about what exactly was in these pages of mine, and I began to realize that writing is a pretty marvelous conversation starter. Here are some reasons why:

1.) You can’t exactly be on your phone and hope your crush walks over to you asking “What are you working on?” Creepy, right? But with a journal? Totally normal.

2.) It’s not a common activity practiced in society and is as rare as one reading a book or playing cards to pass the time. I like doing things that aren’t a common activity practiced in society, as you can tell.

3.) It’s my thing. And if there’s one way to be yourself, it’s to embrace that thing, whatever it may be.

By the end of our chinwag (*British for having a chat), I was beyond grateful that for once, my writing ended up not being an escape tool to awkwardly write out my frustrations at being unable to muster up the strength to talk to someone I liked, but as an invitation to get to know me.

As the gentleman stood up to leave, he apologized for disrupting my writing and I smiled to myself thinking, “Oh, but you’ve now given me something to write about.”

And here we are..