It’s okay for you to be boring
Your life doesn’t always need a cool filter.
A few years ago, I dated someone who I couldn’t keep up with. He wanted every day to feel like an adventure. One time, he messaged me saying he wanted to go on a three-week backpacking trip. Starting that weekend. I had to spend a day explaining how that couldn’t happen.
First off, I was in the middle of my dissertation.
Some time away would be good for me, he countered. Imagine how much inspiration I’d find on the trails and peeks and waterfalls. “You can write at night in the tent,” he said.
To him, a dissertation meant taking selfies in libraries with great lighting. Not spending entire days at home in your pajamas, gently underlining loaned books in pencil so you can erase later.
He did extreme sports almost every weekend and invited me along. But I had to turn him down. “Dissertation,” I’d say.
“But you’ve got an entire year to do that,” he’d answer.
One time I ran what they call a “color run” with him to seem more interesting. It’s a 10K. Except people throw colored chalk at you ever mile. By the end, you look like a rainbow.
I hated it. The chalk dust made me cough and wheez. It blinded me, even though I wore goggles.
