What is it about saying hello that renders itself such a difficult task, at least for myself?
I couldn't have agreed more with this blog post about begrudging engagement in the formalities of familiarities. As a little girl, I would be chastised by my dad for failing to perform the obligatory respectful bow upon his arrival from work or rather, failing to look up and give him so much as a glance and a "hi." My disdain for hi's and hello's has carried on into adulthood and where not saying "hi" was once brushed off as cute or forgetful, it is now regarded as odd, cold, and downright rude. Call it a curse or a blessing but I wear my heart on my sleeve and saying hi comes the utmost naturally when I greet people I sincerely adore, love, have missed. The worst hi scenario is when I'm in an unfamiliar setting with unfamiliar acquaintances and I have to figure out the right timing for when to say hi and if I've already missed that timing, if it's okay to start a conversation as if we'd just been talking and if that's not okay, if I should just still say hi even if a substantial amount of time has already passed since I've placed myself in said setting.
On a more personal note, what keeps me from uttering this one syllable word is the fear that I'll be bombarded with an onslaught of twenty different variations of what are you doing with your life and most of all, the fear that I might not possibly ever figure out the answer.
