I Admit: I’m Not a World Rocker
Last month I had a chance to go to Re:Create. It’s an amazing “unconference” designed to be a refreshing and challenging time of retreat, learning, early adopting, creative display, etc. And from the moment I got there I realized I don’t EVER want to miss it.
Those of you who have complained about the cost and how the registration fees could be used elsewhere just don’t understand. It was worth every penny I paid out of my own pocket to meet some of the most amazing brothers and sisters in Christ that I’ll ever meet. The networking opportunities are phenomenal. The challenges brought by the speakers/artists and fellow attendees will remain with me for life. I am a better follower of Christ because of that week and I’ll defend it boldy and confidently.
That being said, one thing I noticed about myself is this:
I’m NOT a world rocker. Read: I’m not one who leaves conferences with people thinking they’ve just met the most incredible, personable person in the world. I’m not the one who rocks the boats or shakes the foundations of the room with my charm, wit, and people skills.
My very first experience at Re:Create was about 2 hours of a meet and greet mixer with over 100 people in a room that would comfortably hold about half that (plus dinner tables)…I kid, I kid, but it was an “intimate” mixer. I watched (and cringed inwardly) as people milled about the room hugging, greeting, and ultimately meeting and re-meeting each other for what, to me, seemed like an eternity.
It was one of the most uncomfortable moments of my life. I did, however, meet some new friends and TRIED my hardest not to look like that person you remember from high school that stood back from the cliques, that was never invited to parties, and that avoided crowds at any cost. Yep, that’s me. I’m NOT a natural born people person.
I’m not a person that people think of as, “Wow! I’ll never forget him.” I’m wrestling with whether this is a bad thing or not.
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I came away from Re:Create thinking very highly of some people that I met. I want them as lifelong friends! But I wonder if anyone thought that of me?
Not that I need it for approval. I’m comfortable in my lone ranger skin. But at the same time, I sometimes struggle with an almost double life. On one hand I’m very “people” friendly. As long as I’ve got a guitar or piano in between us. I can talk to and play/sing in front of thousands…but put me in a room where the SOLE PURPOSE is to mill around and talk to total strangers? FROZEN!
It makes me so uncomfortable. My fear is that the people that I did get to meet face to face at Re:Create somehow think that I’m snobbish or rude. That I wasn’t “into” what was going on. Or that I just didn’t care to be there. Because I DID!!
I’m very at home in the online world of networking. Maybe because there is so much less of the face to face interaction with strangers. Which is another thing that kind of bothers me. I wonder if people that get to know me through blogging/twitter are disappointed in the “REAL” Russ when they meet me face to face.
Have you ever thought about that?
i just want to be a wallflower at those kinds of gatherings! i am definitely more extroverted behind my computer screen than anywhere else. although, i’ve noticed over the course of this past year that it’s bled over into my face-to-face interactions as well. i’m becoming a more extroverted introvert.
i’m glad i got to meet you when i was down in SSI. as a fellow quiet-till-i-feel-comfortable-to-crawl-out-of-my-shell-er, i thought you were exactly my kind of “people person”.
although i think it was your “in your face!” that makes you so memorable! ;)
IN YOUR FACE!!
Yeah, Mandy says we’ll make something happen as far as 66 goes this coming weekend. Let’s do this!
I’m not really a people connector (at least not on a major scale) and neither is my wife. We love being around people and even meeting new people…we just don’t go out of our way to be all up in the middle of people.
That being said, she REALLY enjoyed getting to know you, even if just for a few hours. And I felt like we had known you for a while, even though we just met!
Yay!
Russ, I enjoyed meeting you very much, and although you do come across as a little shy, that’s all it is. Extroverts thrive in big groups, but God created introverts for a different purpose, and the world would be unbearable if it was full of extroverts alone.
I was very happy to meet you in person, and I really enjoyed out conversations, and getting to know you just a little bit. Long may we continue our annual Recreate reunions :-)
Thanks, Mark. I’ll admit, you were my favorite “new” friend from recreate. Don’t tell the others!
I’m the kind of personality that thrives when ASKED, but I don’t go out of my way to throw myself out there!! So, I appreciated you taking the time to get to know me a little!
Until next year! Or sooner, God willing!
Hey man – your experience from Puckett’s describes my first re:create night to a T. No joke. I was convinced that everything I’d heard about the conference was a lie. Good thing I’ve had my mind changed on that one over the past four years :)
Well, I will say my experience was more about my personality than how I felt about the Conference as a whole! But I was just thinking about it and out came this post!
I left a REALLY big comment here the other day and something fritzed when I clicked submit…. I was hoping it still posted though! BUMMER!
Aww man. Thank you for leaving a really big comment though!
Dude, I swear as I was reading this, I thought I wrote it.. That is EXACTLY the way I feel a lot of the time too! As long as I’m on stage WITH my guitar I am good to go. I can communicate with the masses, but when it’s time to cultivate new relationships with people I have NO clue about, man that’s tough!
Thanks for the comment, Josh! Isn’t it amazing how comfortable we can be attached to an instrument, but take that away and it’s a whole different ballgame.
So Mark is your favorite new friend from re:create? OK, I see how it is.
*goes to Google Reader, unsubscribes from Russ’s blog*
Aww, Bill! You and your wife are actually THE TOP reason that my experience turned around at re:create! You all and Mark and a few others were “those” people that drew me out of my shell a little!
The night we stood and had dinner, you guys were sincerely interested in my story! And I appreciate it!!
Hoping we can hang out again!