Fear Project

Well, turns out the Fear Project wasn't so bad. Although the particular place he wanted us to do the assignment made it a little more difficult because you really had to go out of your way to say "hi, how are you" to someone, and it felt VERY out of context - not like just passing someone on the street and offering a greeting. I have to say, I went into the store in a bad mood, but tried to plaster on a general friendly demeanor: raised my eyebrows, perked up my cheekbones, and aroused a pleasant expression on my mouth - who wouldn't wanna be greeted by me now!?!

The first thing I did was walk in, make eye contact with a woman, prepare to speak, and then ("swallow noise") nothing came out of my mouth! This wasn't going to be that simple, which was surprising. Well, I walked around the store, and was bombarded by the store employees many times as they probably thought my lurking was a little too strange and I was likely gearing up to steal something...

Finally I worked up some courage, started making eye contact and began to greet my fellow Americans. It was a little strange, like I said, very out of context, but everyone was pleasant and seemed pleased by my friendliness. Some people got away quickly and I can imagine that they were wondering if they knew me, so I thought that was funny. Overall it was a positive experience, and I left the store feeling a lot happier than I did walking in, which is saying a lot because I was really in a grumpy mood.

I think the lesson learned overall, is just to remember to live, smile, and say hello to people. It is a nice thing to do for yourself and for others. It also helps you to be present and in the moment, and remember not to take yourself too seriously, because life is short and we should live it fully and happily.