Is being funny a gift or a curse?
I think you could answer that just as well as me, but thank you
😛
Damn! This is actually quite a big question for me. I
do actually think I am quite funny, especially in real life
😀 Being funny - more importantly,
believing I am funny - has done a lot for me. I am quite confident in my ability to be charming. I have gotten every job I have interviewed for and I have aced every oral exam I have ever taken.
I discovered my joy of making people laugh when I was in my early teens, I think. It quickly became my blanket and my crutch. I spend a lot of energy thinking about how I am perceived by others. Comedy is a great way for diverting people's attention from parts of yourself you don't want them to notice. However, the problem with comedy is that it makes the world less real. You pick everything apart and it starts to appear phony, ironic and artificial.
The great thing about BtVS is how it combines comedy, camp and genre play with real human emotion. I think that is why it appeals so much to me.
The biggest problem with thinking you are funny is all the people who disagree with you and just think you are annoying.
Do people expect too much from you?
I am trying to teach people that they can expect very little from me.
Have you ever felt bullied?
Yes. The school I went to was kinda rough (I feel like an idiot writing this on an international forum. There are probably loads of people here that would laugh at me if they saw the school I went, too
😛). There was a lot of bullying and fighting. It is really nice to be out teaching now, because things seem to have gotten so much better. I mean, I have never taught at the school I went to myself, so things may still be just as bad.
My experiences with bullying have probably marked me in a negative way. I am not saying I had it particularly bad. I would often be like Harmony and hide behind my more popular friends. I was also quite the fighter. Lots of bruised knees and bloodied noses
😛 Once I learned the power of words, I started spitting back at any verbal abuse. I got quite good at it. I rarely lose my cool, so I was able to pick my insults very deliberately. I wouldn't simply insult people's looks or their fashion sense, I would go after people where they lived.
I wouldn't say I was a bully myself, though some of my classmates might disagree. There were times when I was very quick to get revenge on any slight or perceived slight, and I often gave worse than I got. There may even have been moments were I took some joy in playing with emotions of people who had done very little to deserve it, but I think that was rare.
High School ... or sixth form college ... was actually a very happy period for me. There were some drama, I guess, but no bullying.
Are your family all academic?
No, only my dad is. As I mentioned earlier, my mother works in the social services. Actually, as of a couple of years ago, she works for a governmental body that overlooks the social services. My brother's partner has a PhD, but for the moment, she works in the private sector.
They could as well be, though, I guess, as most of my extended family have some sort of higher education. This is a big reason for why I relate to Willow. We are both environmentally damaged. We got that middle class angst in our bones
😛
