Are you an Alan?

(Picture from Wikipedia.org)

I've learned that I come off a certain way to people...kind of odd, a little brassy, and definitely the Alan of the group.

What do I mean by this?

If you've seen any of the hangover movies it's evident that Alan was not brought along by choice. Alan's sister was marrying the groom in the first Hangover, so they were forced to include him. He says off the wall things, thinks very highly of himself and dresses like a dufus.

*stares down at her own State Farm 'Can I geat hot tub' shirt* Kind of like me...

I've started to realize that this is how some people see me. To someone on the outside I'm great for a laugh, but to the people stuck with me they are wondering, "Ugh why did I get stuck with the girl that has to arrange her schedule around a TV show?"

I was never the knockout of my friends, the one that always got the boy, or even the one with the cool car or party house, so I made my statement by  being the funny one. But as I got older I realized that not everyone likes the funny one. Sure we look good on a movie screen, but then you realize how everyone acts around the comedic sidekick. You see all the eye rolls and how they really don't want to invite the comedic sidekick to Thailand, but they have to because he's been waiting for an invite and even keeping a set of vaccinations in the mini fridge.

I've learned that people don't actually like this character in real life and though it hurts, I have to come to terms that I am not the chubby girl from Winnebago any more and that people may actually listen to me. I have three books published and fans that actually want to hear what I have to say! I don't need to be the Alan of the group, I need to stop trying to just be funny to get people's attention.

People loved the other characters in the Hangover and maybe it's time for me to step down from my role as Alan and move on to another one...like maybe the dentist without a tooth.

Are you an Alan? What do you think of this character in real life? If you haven't seen The Hangover, why are you holding out?