Slips of the Tongue…
So I am not sure why this happened, but it did:
Last week I was introducing myself to the class I am TA-ing this semester and after I listed my academic qualifications I added some content about my personal life, specifically “I’m married, I own a house, and I have a dog.” With that I took my seat.
The crazy thing is I DO NOT HAVE A DOG.
I have no idea why that came out of my mouth. It seemed natural, it seemed true, and it seemed to flow with the information I was sharing, but as soon as the words left my mouth I knew it wasn’t true.
Does anyone have an explanation for this? Leave a comment…
Were you thinking very hard about what you should say, before getting up to say it? My guess is you were trying to imagine things a typical person would say in such a situation, putting yourself in the position of such a person mentally. So my explanation is that you were deeply involved in a persona you had created, and forgot for just a second that you were you.
Thanks for your comment! Interesting…but, I didn’t know that I was going to introduce myself (I figured the professor would do that), so there was not any premeditated scripting or pondering about what I should say; it was very ad hoc and “off the cuff”. Also, I love speaking in front of people; in my non-TA job I conduct organizational training sessions about culture-shifts and that often requires me to speak in front of large audiences. But on the other hand, you are right – I could have easily forgot for a second that I was me. THAT is a great question for identity and the presentation of self: How did I forget I was me?