Social Awkwardness at its Best
"So what do you like to do?" This 7th grader had to go to the nurse for some reason. And rather than inquire about that, I asked about his personal life. "I like to draw." His tone said he didn't want to keep talking but I kept at it. "Nice. Do you want to do that for a living?" "No," he said. No explanation. "Why not?" "I dunno. I think I'd rather just do it as a hobby." That was triggering for me. So I assured him he could probably find a way to do it for a living. And I think that triggered him so he said, "I think if I drew for a living I wouldn't like it as much." "That's a good point," I said, noting his tone was truly done with this convo. If I had really been concerned about him and his feelings, this would've been a perfect place to stop talking. But now I needed to understand his attitude and explore why this was making me uncomfortable. "Well what do you want to d...