Conversation

I think I understand now why sometimes it's hard to communicate with me.

I try to relate to others using things I severely dislike, thinking, "Wow maybe that person hated it too!"

Case in point:

I recently discovered that my neighbor, who is three years younger than me, attended Missouri Girls State (a so-called educational, so-called camp for high school girls to learn about government and civic engagement). I was really happy to learn that she was getting involved since it's somewhat selective at our high school, but what follows is the conversation I envisioned us having about Girls State.

Me: Hey! You went to Girls State! That's really great!
Her: Yeah, I did. It was cool.
Me: (Really excitedly) I hated it! Did you hate it too?!

Alex (another Girls State hater) once wrote a speech about how complaints are so valuable because we can easily bond over mutual annoyance or dislike. Maybe I'm a little bit too enthusiastic about it.