Rejection is an everyday part of our lives and it sucks
We as humans are raised to get used to disappointment and many of our actions are determined by our level of fear of being rejected
And the reason this sucks is because our species depends on us being social
and interacting with each other, regardless of how antisocial some of us are.
As an introvert, I can tell you that being around people tires me out, okay?
I enjoy being with them and doing activities together
But I need my isolation every now and then, I think a lot of you can agree on that.
Anyway, despite how smoothly you think your life is going
you're bound to run into rejection the moment you set foot outside of your home
Which luckily I don't do very often.
Asking the store employee for help:
"Excuse me. Sorry, hi uh.. do you happen to sell this in red?"
"All available colors are already on the shelves."
Okay, bitch daaamn
Ordering takeout from the menu:
"I'm gonna get a large taro chiller."
"Oh, sorry. We don't have any more ice."
"Oh uhm, I'll just have a grass jelly milk tea at room temperature. I guess?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. We only take cash or debit."
Do you accept blood from my enemies?
Wanting to pet someone else's dog:
"Get your ass back here and love me."
Phone fingerprint sensor:
*bip*
Being 5 seconds late for the bus that came early and the bus driver sees you
but had a bad morning and chooses to take it out on you:
Don't you dare close that door on me you son of a mother.. I'm right here!
Doors that pull when you expect them to push:
*bam*
Rejected University application:
The Blanket:
*breathe in*
Okay.
Vending machines:
*explosion*
But I guess when you hear "rejection" a lot of people have the idea of romantic rejection in mind.
You're at your local cafe, and you find yourself infatuated with a barista.
You find her cute, she has a nice smile, you like the way she said your name correctly,
a task others before her may have had trouble with-
Whatever. You have a crush.
How do you go about the railing your life, and potentially hers,
in order to build a new track alongside of them?
It's easy. Just go for it. Just Shia LeBeouf it.
Just talk to them! Have a conversation, be genuine, if they're not interested. That's fine!
It doesn't change who you are at all nor does it diminish your value as a person.
Don't depend on others for self validation.
Just come out of it knowing that the next time you're interested in someone, it can't be as difficult as the first time.
Getting a job:
A challenge that people who possess one try to convince you of how simple it is.
I remember passing out hundreds of resumes to numerous places for my first solid part-time job
and just being involved in a mixture of anger and envy and just murmuring:
"I know I can do your job better than you."
to myself whenever I see an incompetent asshole under-performing their job.
It wasn't until my older sister hooked me up with an opening at a different branch of her store that I realized
"Wow, all my efforts prior to this were useless"
I did a mock shift where I worked with other potential hires during a store sale
And I was complimented on how well I worked:
"You did great! Dominic."
"Thanks, I-I just did what you told me."
"Well keep it up!"
I got hired and thought to myself: "How have I been rejected so many times before this?!"
It was so easy
Public speaking:
Oh man!
I don't know how, but I ended up representing my school in a public speaking competition
Back in, like, grade seven. I thought I was under qualified as hell because it was a pretty quiet kid
I didn't have major stage fright, but I was shy.
But! I did have a sense of humor.
And during that time of the year, it was a mandatory assignment to make a speech about literally anything, granted it was appropriate.
So I made a speech about toys, and my class enjoyed it.
I honestly didn't do too much research about my topic, I just tried to make it funny.
I got voted to represent my class and then I was put up against every other kid representing their homeroom.
I was nervous!
But did my best and ended up being voted to represent my whole school,
to compete with other schools' representatives and, while I kind of didn't want to,
I did get to skip a day of school, so I was like
"That's a good deal, say no more fam!"
"Les go!"
But then I got there and realized, I didn't want to do this!
Every other contestant had like a valedictorian level of speech and I was there talking about nerf guns and shit
On top of that, the audience was mostly composed of adults, but my speech was more catered towards kids,
so a lot of my jokes weren't received very well, and that took a toll on me.
The feeling of trying to be funny, and no one laughing is a great fear of mine.
I felt extremely rejected, but I still felt proud afterwards.
As a quiet introverted kid who today has still trouble making eye contact when talking to people,
I felt a big development with myself from that experience.
I think what it comes down to is how a lot of us are just trying to figure out where we fit in
where we belong in this world full of different people and different ideologies.
We desire to be with people who can agree with our thoughts, people who can accept us regardless of our quirks.
And it's not an easy task. Everyday we face judgement from those around us,
and it's a constant challenge of seeking acceptance, but still maintaining a sense of dignity.
I know I face that challenge every time I upload a video for all of you to watch.
My job literally depends on you guys not rejecting me, I can't please all of you,
I know that and needed to accept that fact to survive in this field
But I'm just happy to be able to entertain most of you.
But I think that's the point, nothing comes easy. Even when you work hard to achieve what you desire,
you're not always rewarded accordingly.
Get used to disappointment but don't yield to it
And by that, I don't mean to keep pursuing the barista girl even after she's told you she has a boyfriend.
Take the rejection, all forms of it.
Not as a failure, but as an experience to prepare you for the next one, which who knows might not end up being another rejection.
Hey, you know what hasn't rejected me yet?
ANIME!
Been there for me since I was a kid, and is still there for me today.
And it can be there for you, too.
If you head over to crunchyroll.com/domics (link in the description) and trying a premium membership for 30 days
You can find a large collection of Anime, Manga and Drama titles that cover all sorts of genres and themes.
One anime that I'll be starting pretty soon is Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.
And by pretty soon, I mean this Thursday, January 26 at 7:00 PM PST.
"Whoa, Dom! That sounds oddly specific."
Well, it's because Jack and I are going to be doing another watch along!
If you go to watchalong.club, It'll show you when and how to join us this Thursday.
We'll be watching it on crunchyroll as usual, so if you don't have an account yet to ensure you're in sync with us,
Again, you can have a premium trial for 30 days by using the link crunchyroll.com/domics
Enjoy! And see you guys Thursday night..
Or Friday morning, depending where you are in the world.