I’m an adult male who works downtown near a pretty nice park. Now that the weather is getting better, I’d like to get outside at lunch and work on juggling.
I’ve never done it because I don’t want to the the weirdo that’s juggling in the middle of the day, but I don’t really have any other time when I can practice in an open space.
Would it be weird if you were in a park and a grown up man was there juggling?
Absolutely not weird, and any normal adult would just walk by and think hey cool.
Unpopular opinion time, the only people, and I mean literally, the only people that are even suggesting it’s weird or thinking other people think it’s weird, are the sweatys that have never actually been to a park, or understand the dynamics of park people.
Yes, it is.
Do it anyway.
There was one guy in my classes during undergrad who rode a unicycle while playing guitar. He did this everywhere he went. Cool guy. Very level headed and down to earth, just quirky.
Seems about the kind of activity people tend to do in parks.
Unless you’re causing harm to other people, what someone might think is rarely a good reason to not do something you genuinely want to.
Weird as in outside of the norm? Sure, just a bit. Weird as in dangerous or creepy? Not in the slightest. If I were out for a walk and saw someone juggling at the park, that would make me happy. I wish I felt as comfortable to do things outside.
Just don’t wear a vest, bowler/tophat or wingtips.
On second thought, do wear any/all of those and be sure to wax your mustache. Leave a hat or box for tips, I’ll throw some in.
Would it be weird if you were in a park and a grown up man was there juggling?
No. It would be depressing if I was in a park and no one was there juggling, or trying to learn to ride a unicycle, or failing to slackline, or setting up a tent for the first time before going on an adventure, or doing yoga, or practicing artistic moves.
To me, that’s just what people do in a park. That’s (also) what parks are for.When you start, for the first 5 minutes or so, people will look at you, maybe they’ll even point at you, maybe even laugh.
But unless you live in a really shitty depressing place, that laugh will be one of joy, and they’ll look and point at you cause they are interested.Source: I did all those activities in parks. No one ever laughed at me, and I never got the feeling they thought I’m a weirdo.
This is why you can also maybe pick a spot where your back is facing most foot traffic and people can point and look all they want without distracting from your practice.
Or if you’re ambitious, you practice in front of the busiest footpath and get all of the embarrassment of failing in front of an audience out of the way early.
So nothing can phase you later when you perform.
You’re spot on. I’m always looking at people doing stuff like that, and it’s always with envy of their ability to do stuff in public. The guy falling off his skateboard, the fat guy in the pool, the weird meditation circle.
We need more of it. The world is a much better place when we can see other people enjoying and bettering themselves.
Compared to other public spaces, no.
When you’re 20, you care what everyone thinks about you
When you’re 40, you don’t give a shit what anyone thinks about you.
When you’re 60, you’ll realize no one was thinking about you the whole time. It will be more empowering than depressing.
Skip the worry. Do you. It’s public space and hurts no one.
and hurts no one.
That depends entirely on what he’s juggling and how skilled he is.
If they were farting glitter and juggling I would certainly be impressed.
I keep trying to reinforce this for my wife at her work. People tend to grossly overestimate how much time others spend thinking about them. They don’t really think about you at all.
Too many people think they are the center of the universe, and everybody is watching them, so they never figure out the people they think are watching, think they are the center of their universe, too, and everyone is watching them.
I have noticed that too, which is really odd because they well know I’m the center of the universe not them. \s
Are you even a juggler if you don’t go play in public from time to time? It’s a gift for others to see.
I’d say that’s exactly what the park is for.
the only barrier to this is in your head
Ive seen this a lot and i don’t think it is weird. One thind I’ll mention is people are probably going to stop and watch you, ask questions, maybe even ask if they can try. If that won’t bother you while practicing then I’d say go for it and get out there juggling. You could probably leave a hat or something on the ground and people will toss you a couple of coins just for letting them watch.
Not at all weird where I live. Very good use of the park.
If it’s weird where you are, even better. Go for it.
We had a little used parking lot a couple blocks away from my old house and there was a guy who practiced the tall unicycle there. For 20 years, we would drive past that corner taking kids to/from school & us to/from work and it never failed to delight us when he was there.
Juggling in the park is exactly the kind of things parks are for. Anyone who thinks it’s weird has crippling hang-ups; their opinions can be safely disregarded.
