When you’re reading this blog, I’ll be on my way to Anaheim, California for my fourth year of VidCon. I’m excited and nervous as always, but this year holds some even new adventures for this VidCon veteran. For the past three years, I’ve always gotten a hotel room to myself because I go alone and I’m a bit of a chicken when it comes to meeting people over the internet and deciding to room with them. But this year with a hotel bill looking to be over $800 for a hotel farther away from the convention center, I started looking into alternative options. What I really wanted was to find one girl who would split the cost with me and we’d each be paying about $400. I’ve on average spent $500 for a hotel room when I’ve gone in the past. I was looking for just one roommate because I like the idea of having my own bed and personal space. And I would feel like I would be on equal ground with just one new person.
Well…that’s not exactly how it worked it out.
I’m actually going to be rooming with 4 other people, and I’ll be sleeping on an air mattress. This is going to be an extreme jump out of my comfort zone! Not only will I not know anyone I’m rooming with but we’re also going to be in tight quarters and I won’t have a real bed for 5 nights. Despite what you might think, I’m actually the least worried about sleeping on an air mattress. As tired as I know I’m going to be while at VidCon, I know that if I can create a little cocoon of blankets I’ll probably be fine.
But I’m definitely nervous about all the new people! I’m excited too because it will be such a different experience for me (one that I hope I will look back on fondly and not with horror). I’m an introvert. I like keeping to myself. I like having my own personal space. I like being alone and quiet when I have down time. And what I think is interesting about people and being social is that even if I were to room with four other introverted people exactly like that, we’ll still all feel the social pressure and anxiety to talk and have fun and get to know each other that first day when I’m going to have been up since 2 am and trudging through a three-hour time change.
What I really hope to learn through this experience is how I handle under pressure socially. I know how I work personally in these types of situations, and I always try to be kind to myself at events like VidCon. But with so many other people in my room and the need to get to know them because I’ll be living with them for nearly a week, I wonder how I’ll react, how much shorter my fuse will be, and whether or not I can keep my cool or if I’ll end the first day by crying in a public bathroom somewhere. I’d rather that not happen!
It’s all up in the air right now though. I can hope for the best. I’m trying to think of tactics to best keep me calm in case I need them. But I’m also trying NOT to worry too much about it. Because it is what it is. It’s going to be an adventure. Not all adventures turn out to be as good as you hope for them to be, but that doesn’t make them any less of an accomplishment.
So here’s to the next five days of adventure! Wish me luck!
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