“I like you.”
This is what I told a few of my lucky friends last Monday, in celebration of the Psych 101 non-conformity day. For me, being a nonconformist is choosing to not be influenced by the society’s views and demands. In this case, a person does what she or he wants regardless of what others think. For our nonconformity day, I chose to say “I like you” to some of my friends. Of course, this is not something I usually tell them, because it’s such a phrase that could easily get misinterpreted. Normally, people use it only when they talk to their loved ones, or to their potential romantic partners. I rarely hear my friends say this to one another. For this reason, I got used to not using this phrase at all, even though I often feel this way toward the people around me. When I began saying “I like you” to my most special friends last Monday, I realized how fun and sweet (in a non-malicious way) my relationships could become if we were all more vocal and expressive towards one another. It was funny, though, because a few people thought I was just making fun of them. Some, meanwhile, took me a little bit more seriously and told me that they like me too.
I started doing my homework when the clock struck 12:00 AM. I was chatting with a new friend, whom I feel really comfortable with. We were talking about random stuff when I suddenly blurted out, “I like you.” Her reply was sort of like this – “Haha. :|” Obviously, she didn’t take me seriously. She also didn’t know how to react (take a look at the smiley). Sabi niya, binobola ko raw siya. This reaction didn’t shock me, because most likely I’d react in the same way if somebody told me that same thing. Aside from that, I became extra honest with her and I told her how much I trust her and appreciate our friendship. She told me she feels the same way, and I was very happy about that. It felt good because I knew I was being true to myself and to my feelings.
I arrived at CWTS and I told the same thing to my Chem friends. I told each of them that I like them. Some thought that it’s just part of my extreme mood swings. Some didn’t mind me. Perhaps, they thought it’s just one of my extra weird days. One of my friends appreciated what I’ve just told him, and he told me he feels the same way. I also became extra sweet and extra non-conventional with my friends. I held their hands (which I do not really do) during that day. HH with friends. Fortunately, they didn’t find something wrong or unusual with it so I didn’t have to explain anything. I really hate it when people add malice to purely friendly gestures. I was happy that my friends thought in the same way.
By the end of the day, I realized that I like the day-of-nonconformity me more than my normal self. One factor that kept me from doing what I wanted was the large number of the people around me who are also not expressive as I was. Another was the culture that I’ve been accustomed to. Filipinos often associate the word “like” with romance or even lust, and seldom use that word in reference to friends. What hampered me from expressing myself more openly was my fear of being judged by other people. I discovered that my hindrance was sort of imaginary, because I saw how positive the reaction of my friends were to me last Monday. I also realized that maybe we all were thinking in the same way. After all, I know a lot of friends who just aren’t confident and comfortable in showing others their feelings. The positive outcome of my nonconformity day resulted to my decision to keep myself that way. Since Monday, I haven’t changed a bit in the manner I treat my friends. I became more open and expressive to them, and I’m glad to say that they had a very good response. One of my friends started talking to me about his personal thoughts and relationships. Not that we didn’t talk about anything before the non-conformity day, but it surely helped him when I made him feel that I accepted him for who he was. I just realized that some people really need affirmation when it comes to relationships. I’m really happy about what I did. Well, it’s not really a pronounced non-conformity, but it was something I wasn’t used to doing and saying. It’s actually fun whenever I tell my friends that line, “I like you”, and they say outright that they don’t believe me. After all, I have my entire lifetime to prove them that I mean every word in that phrase. ☺ Certainly, this activity has helped me a lot, and I’d recommend others to try it too. It’s really amazing how much a person could discover about herself and her relationships after one fun nonconformity day.
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This is what I told a few of my lucky friends last Monday, in celebration of the Psych 101 non-conformity day. For me, being a nonconformist is choosing to not be influenced by the society’s views and demands. In this case, a person does what she or he wants regardless of what others think. For our nonconformity day, I chose to say “I like you” to some of my friends. Of course, this is not something I usually tell them, because it’s such a phrase that could easily get misinterpreted. Normally, people use it only when they talk to their loved ones, or to their potential romantic partners. I rarely hear my friends say this to one another. For this reason, I got used to not using this phrase at all, even though I often feel this way toward the people around me. When I began saying “I like you” to my most special friends last Monday, I realized how fun and sweet (in a non-malicious way) my relationships could become if we were all more vocal and expressive towards one another. It was funny, though, because a few people thought I was just making fun of them. Some, meanwhile, took me a little bit more seriously and told me that they like me too.
I started doing my homework when the clock struck 12:00 AM. I was chatting with a new friend, whom I feel really comfortable with. We were talking about random stuff when I suddenly blurted out, “I like you.” Her reply was sort of like this – “Haha. :|” Obviously, she didn’t take me seriously. She also didn’t know how to react (take a look at the smiley). Sabi niya, binobola ko raw siya. This reaction didn’t shock me, because most likely I’d react in the same way if somebody told me that same thing. Aside from that, I became extra honest with her and I told her how much I trust her and appreciate our friendship. She told me she feels the same way, and I was very happy about that. It felt good because I knew I was being true to myself and to my feelings.
I arrived at CWTS and I told the same thing to my Chem friends. I told each of them that I like them. Some thought that it’s just part of my extreme mood swings. Some didn’t mind me. Perhaps, they thought it’s just one of my extra weird days. One of my friends appreciated what I’ve just told him, and he told me he feels the same way. I also became extra sweet and extra non-conventional with my friends. I held their hands (which I do not really do) during that day. HH with friends. Fortunately, they didn’t find something wrong or unusual with it so I didn’t have to explain anything. I really hate it when people add malice to purely friendly gestures. I was happy that my friends thought in the same way.
By the end of the day, I realized that I like the day-of-nonconformity me more than my normal self. One factor that kept me from doing what I wanted was the large number of the people around me who are also not expressive as I was. Another was the culture that I’ve been accustomed to. Filipinos often associate the word “like” with romance or even lust, and seldom use that word in reference to friends. What hampered me from expressing myself more openly was my fear of being judged by other people. I discovered that my hindrance was sort of imaginary, because I saw how positive the reaction of my friends were to me last Monday. I also realized that maybe we all were thinking in the same way. After all, I know a lot of friends who just aren’t confident and comfortable in showing others their feelings. The positive outcome of my nonconformity day resulted to my decision to keep myself that way. Since Monday, I haven’t changed a bit in the manner I treat my friends. I became more open and expressive to them, and I’m glad to say that they had a very good response. One of my friends started talking to me about his personal thoughts and relationships. Not that we didn’t talk about anything before the non-conformity day, but it surely helped him when I made him feel that I accepted him for who he was. I just realized that some people really need affirmation when it comes to relationships. I’m really happy about what I did. Well, it’s not really a pronounced non-conformity, but it was something I wasn’t used to doing and saying. It’s actually fun whenever I tell my friends that line, “I like you”, and they say outright that they don’t believe me. After all, I have my entire lifetime to prove them that I mean every word in that phrase. ☺ Certainly, this activity has helped me a lot, and I’d recommend others to try it too. It’s really amazing how much a person could discover about herself and her relationships after one fun nonconformity day.
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