Some people seemingly name-drop with every conversation you have with them. Every story they tell comes with a famous person and a detailed explanation of how they know that famous person. It can often feel as if that person repeatedly mentions fame and money because they seek validation from you.
More often than not, this isn’t the case. It’s likely they’re excited to know these people. It can be unintentional and still come off as condescending. If you are someone who “name drops” often, it may be time to look at how this affects those around you.
Apparently, I’m guilty of this. Only learning of my behavior today was a bit of an eye-opener. I always hate speaking to people who are keen on name-dropping, so it was deeply disturbing to hear from my partner that I’m one of those people. It really just comes down to me forgetting that I already told a story to him, and then he gets bothered by my mentioning of a rich or famous person. My intentions are never to gloat, but I can now see how it comes off as such.
Yes, I’m angry typing. I’m not upset with my partner though, I’m upset with myself. I’m embarrassed and I feel as if I don’t want to share any sacred times from my past with him anymore. There’s a new sense of hesitation because I have to think really hard about it before I speak to be certain that I haven’t told the story before.
The last thing I want is for my partner to think that I care about the small details more than I actually do. Of course, it is exciting to be around fame and fortune, especially because I’m not famous or wealthy myself. So yes I do get a kick out of reminiscing, but it’s never my goal to make anyone else feel uncomfortable. In addition, it’s important to me that my partner knows that I value my loved ones for the contents of their character & not by the material things that they have or offer me.
It’s much easier to jump to conclusions and deem myself incapable of sharing experiences without sounding vain or superficial. The hard part is continuing to be myself, with a damper on the name-dropping. It won’t be easy, but it’s something I know I can achieve, especially now that it’s been brought to my attention.
The first step will be to confirm with my partner before I begin to go down memory lane if I’ve shared a particular story before I reshare. In addition, I should be sure to not overexplain my relationship with any famous or rich person so that he doesn’t feel as though I’m “name-dropping.” After almost a year of dating and his enduring my name-dropping, it’s likely he knows of every famous/rich person that I have any connections to by now.
So it’s safe to say there’s no further need for me to explain.
