Should I be slick* or just be myself?
I remember that when I asked my American friend of his opinion on Chinese people a few years ago when we were in Shanghai. He used the word "slicky". I didn't quite understand what he meant by that, and he explained to me that it was sort of like the combination of a person who is handy, street-smart, or even a con-artist.It was just a bit of thought from him after we'd been trying to get a bargain at the fake market, get a driver's license**, and buy a scooter bike from a local shop. We had even gotten into an argument about our missing Peking duck at a restaurant and had done*** some illegal shit. We did so many things in Shanghai, and my friend is the type of guy who always carries a piece of a gun in the U.S. His hometown was ranked in the top 3 most dangerous cities in the U.S. Life is not easy there according to him. I guess he kind of found some similarities between Shanghai and his hometown, where you either become a guy that nobody wants to mess with or a loser. And his impression of Chinese people was just that: hardworking people who get shit done, but if you are stupid they will rip you off for sure.
Back then, I was always told by my family and relatives that I was too honest. They always looked at me with sympathy in their eyes, as if I would not be able to survive in China. For a long time, I always wanted to be a badass, con-artist, or like a character in The Godfather. It was my personality that prevented me from being the most dominant or charismatic person in my group. But now I kind of accept the fact that being an introvert is not so bad, especially after finish watching the TED Talk on The Power of Introverts.
Maybe I don't need to care about other people's opinions. I just need to accept who I am.
*I really think the word he told you might have been "slick", not "slicky". No one says "slicky".
**In America we spell it "license", so you are correct. The other person corrected you because in the UK it is spelled "licence".
***I can't understand whether you're saying you did something illegal with your friend, but if so, this is how to say it.
You're right, you should accept who you are. "I try more and more to be myself, caring relatively little whether people approve or disapprove." - Vincent van Gogh
Being slicky? Or just be myself.
I remember that, when I asked my American friend for his opinion of Chinese people a few years ago when we are in Shanghai, he told me a word called "slicky"***. I didn't quite understand what he meant by that, and he explained to me that it was (sort of) like the combination of a person who is handy, street-smart, or even a con-artist.It was just a bit of thought from him after we'd been trying to get* a bargain at the fake market, get a driver's licence, get a scooter bike from a local shop, and even an argument on our missing Peking duck at a restaurant and some illegal stuff**. We did so many things in Shanghai, and my friend is the type of guy who always carries a gun in the U.S. His hometown was ranked among the top 3 most dangerous cities in the U.S. Life is not easy there according to him. I guess he (kind of) found some similarities between Shanghai and his hometown, where you either become a guy that nobody wants to mess around, or you become a loser. And his impression of Chinese people was just that: hardworking, get things done, but (if you are stupid) they will rip you off for sure.
Back then, I was always told by my family and relatives that I was too honest, and they always looked at me with sympathy in their eyes, like I will be the one who cannot survive in China. For a long time, I always wanted to be a badass, con-artist, or the character like in The Godfather. It was my personality that stopped me becoming the most dominant or charismatic person in my group, but now I (kind of) accept the fact that maybe being an introvert is not so bad, especially after I've watched the Ted Talks "The Power of Introverts."
Maybe I don't need to care about other people's opinion. I just need to accept who I am.
* that's too many "gets" all close together :(
** it's considered bad ny many people to use profanities in writing, and in most converstational contexts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profanity >>> http://www.aliventures.com/swear-words-in-writing/
It might be good to drop the "kind ofs" and "sort ofs", when they don't add anything to your meaning.
*** "slicky" is not a word I have ever heard or seen before. I couldn't find it in mainstream dictionaries, but the Urban Dictionary came to rescue. Apparently it is offensive slang for a thief (as "slicky boy") - or a hand gesture of trust - or an obscene sexual term. Maybe not a word to throw around a lot.
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Slicky ; https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=slicky%20boy
Life : I hope you can become the person you'd like to be, and that you'd be happy for your children and loved ones to know you as.
