Have you ever watched a movie and something about the main character hits a little too close to home?
That happened to me this morning when I was waiting for my groceries to be delivered. (Yes — city living has its advantages.)
The film was “Happy-Go-Lucky,” the story of Poppy, a 30-ish single, highly-optimistic schoolteacher living with her friend Zoe in a flat in Camden, England. As the movie begins, Poppy’s bicycle is stolen, and she starts taking driving lessons from Scott, a very negative, closed-off instructor who she infuriates simply by being her sunny self.
The movie follows Poppy’s day-to-day interactions with her students, her friends and her sisters, and we quickly see that her optimistic attitude aggravates many situations.
Now, I don’t think that my personality mirrors that of Poppy — I am much too grounded in reality — but when I watched her driving sessions with Scott, the dynamic wasn’t that unfamiliar.
How many times have I been placed in situations with extremely quiet or shy people, and I have smothered them with my friendliness and chatter? They got that look of panic in their eyes, and yet I motored on, thinking all they needed was a little more time…a little more attention.
In some cases, we made some real progress…but that may just be the extrovert in me projecting. Who knows what the other person really thought?
In “Happy-Go-Lucky,” Scott was not only angered by Poppy’s attitude, he also misinterpreted her intentions. Very awkward.
So, I learned a lesson today. And I was only killing time.
Yea movies!
