I Can Be Full of Surprises to People Who Underestimate My Abilities

September 16, 2026

Some people are extroverted and enjoy being the center of attention. I am introverted and I go out of my way to avoid lots of attention. I prefer to quietly observe what is going on around me.

I like to think about how my experiences, my thoughts, and my feelings are all connected.

Many people see me standing back quietly and assume that I don’t have any initiative, that I don’t care, and that my mind is somewhere else. Most of the time I am quiet and accommodating because I prefer to have peaceful and harmonious relationships to being the center of attention.

People that don’t know me very well are often surprised when I speak up or take a stand on an issue that is important to me. They equate being quiet with being a pushover and an easy mark. However, they are soon surprised to learn that I can be assertive and that I can stand up for myself and the people that I care about.

One time my boyfriend and I were on vacation. We met two new friends and started talking. They invited us over to their place so that we could continue to talk and hang out. We were all into video games. They had a Nintendo video game console. The two of them were playing the game Tekken while my boyfriend was talking to them. I was sitting quietly listening to their conversation and observing.

I decided that I wasn’t really interested in what they were talking about at that moment. In my head I was thinking about how much I had wanted to have a Nintendo gaming system when I was growing up but my father had purchased a Sega system instead. I had played Mario Brothers on a couple of occasions, but I had never played Tekken. I was interested in playing Tekken to see how I would like it.

I had honed my video gaming skills by playing against my younger brother while growing up. My brother never bothered reading the user manual for any of the games. He would wing it and jump right into the game. I always read the manual from cover to cover. He would learn through trial and error. I would often surprise him by using something in the game that I had learned from the manual to win. He would always ask, “How did you do that?” and I would show him the exact spot in the manual.

I noticed a manual for the Tekken game on the table in front of me. I started to read it to myself, quietly, while everyone else was talking. Then, when I had finished reading the manual, I challenged one of my new friends to a game. I picked a female character dressed in blue and wearing high heels. I told my new friend that I had never played Tekken before.

He smiled in a way that told me he was expecting to win. The match started and I was ready to fight. I pressed two buttons together several times to try out my new combos. I was so happy when they worked. My female character kicked and punched very fast. A few seconds later, the other character was KO. My new friend was so surprised that I had won so quickly that his mouth was wide open in astonishment. My character celebrated my win by jumping, twirling around, and laughing. It was fun to win against someone that had underestimated my abilities.

The other new friend challenged me to a match as well. He was determined to win. He picked a big and strong-looking character. The match started: bam, boom, bam, and it was over. It was fun to watch a big tough guy being thrown around by a female character in high heels. And when the match ended, she wiped her hands for a “job well done”. Then she twirled around and laughed with delight.

My new friends were trying to figure out how I was getting my character to make all of these cool combination spins, kicks, and punches. I finally showed them the user manual for Tekken and we all had a good laugh. They had fun trying out the new combo moves. It was time for my boyfriend and me to leave. I was delighted that I had played Tekken so well. It was so much fun. My new friends were surprised that I could beat their characters so quickly. They didn't enjoy losing, but they enjoyed learning about the new combo moves.

My boyfriend was not surprised at all that I had won so many times. He was laughing with me when my females characters were celebrating a win. He knew that I was going to play well as soon as he noticed me reading the gaming manual. My boyfriend has always believed in me. That is why he is now my husband and we have been together for a long time. My husband never underestimates me. He sees me as capable and smart. He believes in me and always encourages me to believe in myself. It is wonderful to be around people like my husband who truly understand me and appreciate my abilities.

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