Do you find yourself talking with no real purpose? Do you find joy in filling silence with random nonsense? Do your friends sigh when you begin to tell another pointless, 30 minute long story? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be a yapper.
Even though this diagnosis may seem grave, do not worry, you are not on your own. In fact, I suffer the same fate. It may seem as though there is no bright side to this realization, however, being a yapper does not need to be as negative as many people perceive it.
Often, I find myself wondering about what I was born to do. Simply watching some old home videos gave me an answer to this conundrum. On Christmas morning at the age of three, my mom called me over to watch a video of me telling a story around a campfire. You may be wondering how long the story was. The answer: 20 minutes and counting. Even after the adults attempted to stop me, I continued to loudly yell my pointless story over the voice of my poor older sister who could not get a word in edgewise. Clearly, I was born to yap.
Many of you out there may have similar stories. Instead of cringing at the thought, you should be proud of your verbal skills.
Studies show that up to 75 percent of people have a fear of public speaking. Someone needs to be able to take up the most slides in a group presentation. Approximately 80 percent of jobs are secured through networking. When the time comes, you need to be able to converse with your next possible connection. You may simply want to get a good participation grade in one of your classes. Or, you just want to avoid sitting in silence with your random roommate that Notre Dame provides.
Pointless yapping can help you make new friends. Whenever my friends ask me how I am able to befriend random people in class, I remind them that it is simply because I can speak to a brick wall. Even if the person next to me did not ask about the big puddle I stepped into on my way to class, they are sure to hear about it. College can be a lonely place, the best way to combat this is airing out useless information to the people around you.
Being a yapper can also help you bring joy to your friends. Even though people claim to hate hearing your nonsense, they always end up laughing in the end. And, if you have friends that can not appreciate this yapping, odds are you need new friends.
There is nothing wrong with being shy and it is imperative to know when it is time to keep your mouth shut, but there should be pride in being a yapper. To be a yapper is to be a storyteller, an entertainer, a comedian and an artist all wrapped into a neat package. Not everyone has the gift of gab, and those who do should be willing to embrace this trait.
