Silence

Some people have this intense need to fill every moment with chatter. Sometimes I am this person. Most of the time, however, I am not.

Silence is something deeply embedded in me. My mother is Finnish, and says in childhood you're told you shouldn't speak unless you have something to say. I used to read almost constantly, and reveled in days spent in bed or in an armchair reading a new book, which easily leads to silence (at least when I was a young child it did, because iTunes did not exist to be beckoned for every waking moment).

In a restaurant, my family is the quiet group sitting and enjoying their food. For the French, food is culture, which includes conversation, and that's great for them. But a lot of the time when I sit down for dinner, it's nice to have a bit of silence now and then to truly enjoy your food. And the silence is never awkward. It's simply nice.

Ashley was/is one of my best friends for a reason. While I can't say I knew everything about her, I sure knew a lot about her. And eventually we fell into an entirely pleasant routine of silence together. Never, again, awkward. We've had phone calls that are simply us just sitting there knowing that the other person is at the other end. And she sort of baffles me with this ability, because her house is always lively with five children inside.

Maybe part of this love of silence so ingrained in me is what it means. If you aren't awkwardly silent with someone, yet are silent with that person a lot, it tends to mean that the conversations you do have are more meaningful in some way. And a non-awkward silence implies a large amount of comfort with the person. You don't need to say anything. In some ways, it's almost telekinetic, because your thoughts can be at the same place without anyone needing to say it.

And why ruin a perfect moment by talking about it. You pull away from the experience when you do that. If you're looking at the stars lying in your significant other's arms, talking might just ruin the moment. Or perhaps, to pull away from something as obviously amazing and wonderful, simply the act of talking while watching a movie can ruin things and pull you out of what you're experiencing.

Silence is golden. You cannot contest that.
~Jess the Nerdfighting BandGeek

PS: I met John Green! I made a video, and added some extra details in a post on my collab blog, which can be seen by clicking here.