Everyone Can Swim // Settlers of Catan

            So, I’ve been out of town. That explains why this second post has taken awhile.

I went to the state fair, which was fantastic. I’ve also been spending the night at a friend’s house that is near where the fair is held.

            It’s been really fun, actually. We’ve played a lot of Settlers of Catan, which is, without a doubt, my favorite board game. It’s extreme customizability is incredible for a board game. We pooled together and bought a couple expansions (specifically Seafarers and Seafarers: 5-6 player expansion) and we made the largest board we could with the pieces we had. We also played with custom rules, the biggest of which was what we dubbed ‘Full Discovery,’ which involved having the all of the resource hexagons and number tiles flipped over (undiscovered) at the beginning of the game. The game lasted 3 hours and 18 minutes and was absolutely fantastic. It was one of the best games of Catan I have played since I got the game a couple years ago.

            That aside, the rest of the experience has been very interesting, as it always is for me when I have to meet new people. I am a very introverted person, and despite wanting to be comfortable meeting new people, I cannot. It’s not in my nature.

            Interestingly enough, the friend with whom I’ve been staying is an extrovert. This resulted in an interesting dynamic as he (to no fault of his own) didn’t put much effort into introducing me to both the people and the situation. There was very little, if any, explicit explanation of things (aside from the usual tours of the town and such). Maybe this isn’t (solely) based on the introvert/extrovert dynamic, but I believe it plays a huge role in it. As an introvert, I attempt to lower someone into a situation as you would slowly lower yourself into a pool. Testing the waters, slowly acclimating yourself to the changes, before fully submersing yourself and enjoying yourself. As an extrovert, he believes in the “diving board” approach of submersion first, make adjustments subsequently.

            I don’t believe either approach is “right,” especially universally. I believe one approach can work better than the other for certain people, but I don’t believe it’s sink or swim. Everyone can swim.

            So, despite being metaphorically pulled into the swimming pool against my will, I swam. Despite the anxiety, awkwardness, and slight fear, I survived.

I’m Michael, I’m an introvert, and this is my life.