Assignment 8- Anya Slepyan

Fears: Fish/things that live underwater, forced social engagement/small-talk, people
Annoyances: rudeness, ignorance, obnoxious people, Donald Trump (he qualifies as all three!)
Accomplishments: debate team, school stuff, camp counselor, speaking to people I don't know sometimes
Confusions: Religious warfare, GEOMETRY
Sorrows: not having enough time to try everything I want to do
Dreams: travel a ton, become a hermit who lives in the woods and just camps all the time.
Idiosyncrasies: introvert, misanthrope (to some extent), a little nerdy about some things I guess
Risks: not too much yet, but I'm sure I'll find some crazy stuff to do later
Beloved possessions: teddy bear (then), music library, poncho (now)
Problems: I look silly in hats.

If Satan existed, his number one pastime would be organizing mixers and creating get-to-know-you games. Forcing people to "bond" over a short period of time by demanding that they tell embarrassing stories, share personal likes and dislikes, and invade each others' personal space is nothing short of evil. Supposedly these activities  create an open environment where people become more comfortable with one another; in realty, they embody my personal version of Hell.
Let me give you an example. My Freshman year, I went to a conference in DC sponsored by the Religious Action Center for Reformed Judaism. Basically, we attended seminars on political issues of our choice, then wrote speeches and presented them to our representatives (or more frequently, employees of our representatives) in the Capitol Building. It was a great opportunity and a very fun program. Unfortunately, the conference organizers decided it was necessary to have a mixer for an entire hour and a half.
"Find someone with the same color shoes as you and tell them about the last movie you watched."
"Get into groups of five and tell each other your favorite animals while holding on to the left ear of your neighbor."
"Hug three different people and give them a compliment."
These  commands, and the dozens more that followed, forced us to exchange pleasantries, cursory introductions, and physical contact with hundreds of random teenagers from around the country. It was awful. Forced conversation is already deeply unpleasant, but the added measure of unwarranted physical contact among strangers really put this activity over the edge. I really can't think of a worse way to make people feel comfortable. For the rest of the conference, I would recognize someone as the chick who's ear I touched and that guy who gave me a hug, and avoid eye contact with those people for all that I was worth.
Mixers and similar events, in addition to small-talk, are the kinds of social interaction that I live to avoid.