The Creased Pages

I always imagined myself to be the kind of person who becomes extremely quiet when nervous, almost on the verge of mutism. And, I guess, in many situations, that is true. If I'm around a large group of people, especially if the majority of those people are strangers to me, I tend to find it difficult to hold a conversation, mostly because I lack the confidence to make myself heard.  Saying that, I'm not completely hopeless. Coming from a noisy household with three brothers and having a number of male friends means that I can handle the 'one of the lads' routine, in terms of the loudness and the joking around. I've even picked up a bit of an ability to 'banter', as the kids say! I wouldn't call myself the life of the party, but I get by, as long as I'm comfortable around the people I'm with. It's mainly when it comes to family gatherings or work dos that I keep schtum. (That's a technical term. Schtum). I always expected the same kind ...

Good manners don't cost a thing. It's on a daily basis that I find myself struggling to understand how there are people in this world to whom manners are such an alien concept. I do my best to maintain a positive, even cheery nature, with the people I interact with. Even on days when I'm feeling a little low, I still do what I can to smile at cashiers in shops and apologise to people I accidentally bump into on the street. It's not their fault I'm feeling grumpy, so why should I take it out on them by letting my behaviour slip and being moody with them? No, that's better saved for when my brothers wind me up at home! Besides, my mother brought me up to be polite, so why shouldn't I? 'Treat others how you would expect to be treated yourself' and all that. Not to mention that my 'please's and 'thank you's have always just come naturally to me.