larping birds
today, my friend and I were talking to my AP Government Teacher. They were talking and geeking out about birds. For context, my government teacher is 64 years old and a very enthusiastic person who seems to love current events and education. He's a great guy. They started talking about their favorite birds. I'm not into birds--I'm not extremely interested, but I do appreciate how interesting some of them are. When they asked me about my favorite birds, I said "oh..uh, I don't really know. I'll give you my top 3? The cardinal, blue jay, and the crane." The first two are extremely basic--I just came up with something to say something.
I didn't want to say anything about not being a bird person because I was afraid that would make me seem unknowledgeable, non-curious, or what not.So I larped birds. That's my story. After thinking about it, a few hours after the event, I realize that my favorite bird is by far the American Woodcock. It is absolutely beautiful and there's this one photo of it being surprisingly plump.
There's no shame in not being interested in the same things others are--it doesn't make you less intelligent. There is also no shame in not knowing stuff. If you don't know, it's okay. After all, there are plenty of people who also don't know. The truth is, the best strategy is to remain authentic. If you don't know something, there is truly no shame (unless is basic knowledge like the 7 continents..) If you aren't interested, that's okay too. Just remain authentic to yourself, and it will make everything much easier.
I won't worry about larping birds anymore, nor pretending I know stuff that I don't. And if someone thinks I'm stupid for not knowing something. that's their problem.