At a very young age, my dad realized that tricking me was easier than it was for other kids. My 'ice-breaker' story is infamous (for some reason, I doubt that, actually). It all started when my dad and I on were our yellow couch in the pit (this was our living room, it was just about a foot and a half deeper than the floor, and yes, I did almost kill myself on the steps multiple times) and I was screaming; he was laughing. Was this situation new to us? No, of course not-- my dad loved pulling my leg when I was a child. He was joking that I had to take a bath in one of our plastic cups, and I interpreted this as reality. I thought to myself, "he must be insane, I mean, he can't really think I'm small enough to fit in one of those!"
So, after trying to persuade him that it just wasn't possible, I broke down in tears. I was frustrated-my eyes were red and my cheeks glistened; it was a perfect combination of anxious and upset. My dad, upon noticing that maybe he pushed the joke too far, admitted that, no, I did not have to take a bath in a cup (because yes, I couldn't actually believe that until he assured me it was all going to be all right).
"You're so gullible, Sophie!" He mocked; yet, he was definitely trying to cheer me up at this point. And trust me, I already knew what gullible meant--I grew up with a mom that taught you a new vocabulary word every chance she got and a dad that had to define the word for me because he basically used it every day. But then he made one mistake. One, tiny, minuscule remark that I bet he just couldn't keep from spilling out of his mouth.
"It's written on your forehead!" I sat there, scrutinizing the comment. I literally sat there, plump and lifeless like a vegetable, on the yellow couch blemished by food and witness to my mom's screaming.
"What is?" I wasn't exactly sure what it was he was referring to (I still do this, I just clock out sometimes when someone is talking to me. It's not that I'm oblivious--my mind just wanders).
"Gullible, you have the word writt-" He didn't have to finish the sentence; I was already running to the bathroom, crying even more, to check the mirror. TO CHECK THE MIRROR. I believed him. I actually thought that the word 'gullible' had somehow magically appeared on my face. Yes, I looked at my reflection expecting to see the words in bulk. Yup, this is a true story. Very, very true.
Is there any significance to this story? I'm gullible, but we've already established that. Was this situation some type of huge ordeal? Nope. Has it scarred me? No, I don't think so. Then what has it done for me? It's given me a good story, that's for sure, but it also taught me that just because someone says something that appears to have a certain credibility to it, does not entail that it is necessarily true. Yes, it was very annoying and it still is today, but I've started to pick up on it (It's taken me almost twenty years to do so, but, nonetheless, learning shouldn't always follow a clock).
Hmm, so, go! Go tease your friends, go annoy your family, go say something to your siblings with the sole intention of making them upset--but keep it all in good humor. There is a thin line between joking with someone and being mean to someone. Did my dad ever cross this line? Of course, but he always came back to the right side and apologized--and I know he wasn't purposefully trying to get me angry--it's just that, feelings are easily influenced. Definitely-please, be nice to people.
So, after trying to persuade him that it just wasn't possible, I broke down in tears. I was frustrated-my eyes were red and my cheeks glistened; it was a perfect combination of anxious and upset. My dad, upon noticing that maybe he pushed the joke too far, admitted that, no, I did not have to take a bath in a cup (because yes, I couldn't actually believe that until he assured me it was all going to be all right).
"You're so gullible, Sophie!" He mocked; yet, he was definitely trying to cheer me up at this point. And trust me, I already knew what gullible meant--I grew up with a mom that taught you a new vocabulary word every chance she got and a dad that had to define the word for me because he basically used it every day. But then he made one mistake. One, tiny, minuscule remark that I bet he just couldn't keep from spilling out of his mouth.
"It's written on your forehead!" I sat there, scrutinizing the comment. I literally sat there, plump and lifeless like a vegetable, on the yellow couch blemished by food and witness to my mom's screaming.
"What is?" I wasn't exactly sure what it was he was referring to (I still do this, I just clock out sometimes when someone is talking to me. It's not that I'm oblivious--my mind just wanders).
"Gullible, you have the word writt-" He didn't have to finish the sentence; I was already running to the bathroom, crying even more, to check the mirror. TO CHECK THE MIRROR. I believed him. I actually thought that the word 'gullible' had somehow magically appeared on my face. Yes, I looked at my reflection expecting to see the words in bulk. Yup, this is a true story. Very, very true.
Is there any significance to this story? I'm gullible, but we've already established that. Was this situation some type of huge ordeal? Nope. Has it scarred me? No, I don't think so. Then what has it done for me? It's given me a good story, that's for sure, but it also taught me that just because someone says something that appears to have a certain credibility to it, does not entail that it is necessarily true. Yes, it was very annoying and it still is today, but I've started to pick up on it (It's taken me almost twenty years to do so, but, nonetheless, learning shouldn't always follow a clock).
Hmm, so, go! Go tease your friends, go annoy your family, go say something to your siblings with the sole intention of making them upset--but keep it all in good humor. There is a thin line between joking with someone and being mean to someone. Did my dad ever cross this line? Of course, but he always came back to the right side and apologized--and I know he wasn't purposefully trying to get me angry--it's just that, feelings are easily influenced. Definitely-please, be nice to people.