Truth be told, I’m extremely socially awkward, and normally I tend to avoid?parties at all cost, but there was this one time when my roommate who was also the vice president of an English club, literally?dragged me to?a club party, because she insisted that I should socialize?more often.

?

Ironically, she abandoned me almost as soon as we arrived to fulfill her duty and cook party dishes. So thanks to my dear roommate, I was standing alone in the bustling crowd, when suddenly a psychology book on the shelf caught my attention, because for a nerd like me, books would be much more interesting than people. While I was clumsily removing the book from the shelf, a guy about my age approached me and asked expectantly whether I was into psychology too. It turned out that he was a graduate student in social psychology and at that time I happened to take a few psychology courses as well, and we’re both genuinely interested in this field.

?

So I reckon this is probably the main reason why we hit it off instantly. It was most of him who did the talking, but I was a very willing listener, eager to soak up?everything he had to say like a sponge, from some fun psychological facts to key research findings. I would occasionally contribute a couple of questions to keep the conversation going, which is a rare occurrence for me, if I’m completely honest.

?

When it comes to the reasons why I enjoyed talking to him, the list could go on and on, but what impressed me the most was?his passion and knowledge on the subject. He’s very well-read, but at the same time was able to use simple, everyday language to explain difficult concepts. Despite being better-informed?on the topic than me, he was not conceited?or arrogant, nor was he condescending?when he shared about what he knew but I didn’t.

?

Overall, I’d say it’s quite pleasant to converse with?him, and his authentic?and down-to-earth?personality made me comfortable enough to let him lead the conversation.

?

socially awkward 社交笨拙的

avoid... at all cost 無論如何都要避免

drag...to...硬拉，硬拽

socialize 社交

approach 接近

hit it off instantly 一拍即合

do (all) the talking 都是某人在講話/讓某人去交涉

soak up (knowledge) like a sponge 像海綿一樣吸收(知識)

keep the conversation going 讓談話進行下去

What impressed me the most was... 讓我印象最深的是

well-informed（對某一話題況）非常熟悉的

condescending 表現(xiàn)出高…一等的姿態(tài)的

converse with...（和…）交談

authentic 真實的

down-to-earth “接地氣的”?實際的，腳踏實地的