The characters we play

As I walk in to that door, I automatically super charge and transform into the energetic instructor I’m suppose to be. I greet everyone with a smile, say good afternoon or evening and get warmed up in the instructors room. You see,that room to me is like behind the curtains for actors that are getting ready to say their lines and play their role on stage. The only difference between me and them is my colleagues don’t know that i’m rehearsing. And that can be hard, because I may end up offending somebody or giving someone a bad impression. I don’t like that but the job must get done.

I come home, mellow down and let my guard down for a while before I go to bed. It’s relaxing. Most of the time I don’t have a show to put up after 9 pm. But as I wake up in the morning I should or else I get depressed and get nothing done.

Then, I turn into this quiet-ish little boy when I’m with my parents because I haven’t got that much to say and I also have to be extra careful about what comes out. So I refrain from being too loud or saying stuff that’ll probably make them think twice about who this person is.

Then I have 3 group of friends. The 1st group I can let my guard down completely and just be “me” and say what needs to be said. The second group is those who kind of look up to me in a way and I have to be that shining example and not let anybody down. The 3rd group is the one where I have to be nice cause they’re nice too, they’re more acquaintances than friends and so I have to be well-behaved.

Then comes the smoothie man where I’m the founder and the representative. So I have to be top-notch at customer service and make sure that I don’t end up insulting anyone due to their ignorance. Not that anyone is. Just saying. I not only have to be at my very best, I also have to convince them to buy and why this is actually good for them, and how I’m doing them a favor and no matter where they look in this island, they’ll not find great quality whole foods for this affordable price.

Here’s the issue. When you lose yourself and start playing another character in the wrong place. Here’s an example, a customer called and told me she wanted smoothies, she mentioned what fruits she wanted in her smoothies and what to exclude. She told me she doesn’t like bananas. I said “okay, how about mangoes? ” “Not a fan sorry”, she replied. “ok then, I’ll put in some avocados for you”. “sorry those too”.  I simply blurted: ” I feel sorry for you, are you serious?”  Long story short, she didn’t text/call back that following day. And at times my wife tells me ” I’m not your friends okay. I’m not Ahmed or Nasser. How can you talk to me that way”. Mmm oops? Back to character Hady, back to character.

When I play such intense characters. It’s hard. It’s hard to get out of them quick and it’s hard not to offend people. But I mean all good, I promise. I don’t wanna hurt anybody. People either love me or hate me. That grey line is quite rare. I can be a little straightforward at times. I just forget which character I’m playing. I’m exhausted already naming all them.