There’s this young man who regularly comes into our shop at work, to have a chat or three. I think he’s 18.
Today, he asks me, “So.. what have you been up to lately?”
I think for a moment. “Oh… well, you know, I work on weekdays. Outside of work, nothing really that exciting.”
He asks, “Seriously, though. What else do you do?”
I start to get a little bit flabbergasted. (That’s such a cool word.) “Well, I play a lot of World of Warcraft.” (I also do lots of other things, but WoW is a “big” thing in my life right now outside of work)
“Ah, so in other words, you have no life.”
I start to get defensive, and flap my arms in the air like an idiot. “I do have a life! Just because someone doesn’t go out a whole bunch doesn’t mean they don’t have a life! My husband is away for a long period of time, which leads to my social activities being different to that of other young people, but that suits me fine anyway!”
The young man laughs at me. “You have no life.”
We chat a bit about WoW and his love for his PS3 and then I excuse myself and shuffle away. I spent a good chunk of today being flustered and irritated at what he said. Hey, what he said may be true, and the thought of that really bugged me. I am happy. I am keeping fit and stressing less. I have a firm grip on a lot of my mental issues and feel much stronger than I did earlier in the year/late 07′. I keep to myself and, even if I was single, I wouldn’t want to go out to clubs and bars anyway. (That sort of stuff, imo, is not appropriate when you’re married and your husband is away)
I really don’t talk to many people now, and it doesn’t actually bother me at all. I don’t really anyone to compare my life to, except my best friend who is the same age as me and has two children. People would say she has “no life” too. But I know she’s happy.
I don’t know whether most people in their twenties would think I didn’t have a life. I don’t know what their lives are like, but I do believe things generally quieten down for many people once they get out of their teens. Actually, that shouldn’t even matter to me anyway, since I should pace my life the way which makes me comfortable and content.
I work and play WoW. That’s about it right now. I haven’t seen my husband since September. I don’t really like talking to people and I don’t really want to try and make friends. It feels foreign and uncomfortable. All this given, I still believe I have a life.
A very interesting and rewarding one.