Yourself

The other day I was talking with(or at least she was talking to me) a friend. For some reasons she could not stop talking about herself. She just kept going on and on about how bad of a day she was having, and how tired she was, and oh my gosh she just tripped a second ago and it was embarrassing and how she must have done so bad on her math test etc. Well, I did what was asked of me and nodded every once in a while and tired to seem interested, but did she really think I cared? Now I'll admit, I'm not a very emotional or sympathetic person, especially for a girl, but this, as well as many other experiences of talking with people has made me realize that it's always a losing deal when you talk about yourself. All the good things you say about yourself, no one will believe, and all the bad things you say, people believe too much of. I myself am considered to be a fairly quiet, and un-talkative person. Part of the reason I don't talk so much is from experiences I've had of being annoyed with how much other people ramble on about themselves and being determined not to be like them. Sure maybe sometimes it's good to share a little bit about yourself, but when you share too much , it just turns into a discourteously to others. Talking about yourself can also be dangerous. I have a cousin who, whenever I say one little thing like,"I love chocolate ice cream," she'll immediately respond with a come back like," well so do I, and I this, and this" and suddenly it has turned into a competitive conversation, when all I said was that I liked ice cream. However it is pretty hard not to talk about yourself sometimes. We all know that everyone's favorite topic of conversation is themselves, but if you can refrain from this and just put up with listening to other people, I can guarantee you your life will be better. People will respect you for thinking that you're actually listening to them and you'll seem more humble. The question really isn't who actually likes listening to other people talk about themselves, but who likes being listened to?