How in the world do you talk to Adults???

This is not a rhetorical question, or at least I don't think it is. This is something I keep asking myself over and over and... ummmm... over?

I have a bachelors in Youth Ministry and I have worked with youth and kids from babies to high school seniors (anyone else ever wonder if they are spelling the word senior right?) and talking to kids and meeting them seems to come really easy almost natural. But, when it comes to adults such as parents or teachers or other random older people I feel like I'm a terrible communicator. People keep telling me that I am just as good at working with adults as I am with youth but honestly I find that very hard to believe. When meeting anyone there is normally this point where conversation is generally surface level and a bit awkward but then you start asking each other questions and things go a bit deeper and you establish a relationship beyond the casual acquaintance. With students it takes only a short time to get past that awkward banter where you say things like "tut tut it looks like rain" or "have a good one," whatever the heck that means, and begin getting a bit more deep and talking about favorite types of cereal and what have been the most drastic life changes you have experienced (I don't care what you say, someones favorite cereal tells a lot about their personality).

Maybe there is a book about this that I could read that would help me out in being more confident in my interaction with other adults, and friends don't count as adults because they are as silly as I am, if not more. If I was to write a book about this subject I would title it "Help I Don't Know How to Speak Adult Talk!" Who knows, maybe if I wrote the book I would be more likely to get past the first couple of pages without wanting to take a nap.

At any rate, I think that part of my problem is that I see myself and youth and adults as extremely different. Don't get me wrong they are very different but honestly look at kids and adults. Adults are all kids just older ones. I mean they are someones kid right? Somebody is their parent or was their parent. So what is to say that they are very different on the inside then the youth I work with and find so easily able to connect with? Hmmm... I think I will try this. Rather than placing adults in a whole other category from kids I will try to see all adults as kids too. I wonder how some teachers and staff and administration at the High School I help out at will respond when I ask them what their favorite cereal is. I can just see the shock on the nurses face when the first question that comes out of my mouth when I go to meet her is, "whats your favorite kind of cereal," lol...

Hopefully by the end of the school year I will have a list of all the teachers and staff's favorite cereal at Central Valley High School. I will definitely have to post it in a blog. Now I just have to pray for boldness to actually do it and not just talk about it. OK Here We Go....

I'm Seriously Ridiculous sometimes.

B