Despite his relaxed and laid back personality, Joel is usually a perceptive guy and a talented observer. He tends to think much more than what he says about other people, and he rarely starts a conversation with anyone that he's not friends with. He has a short attention span during conversations due to him usually getting lost in his own thoughts while observing small details on the other person, especially when the topic of conversation is not of his interest or when he simply gets distracted by random physical features of the other person. This unconcious behaviour always brings nothing but trouble to him; especially in class where he's rarely able to retain information from professors, and so he's forced to rely on his textbooks instead.
However, as sharp as he can be while observing others, he's usually the worst when it comes to knowing himself. His habits and social skills are a mess (usually stays up late and wakes up with a headache, eats whatever stuff he finds on the refrigerator and takes eternal naps) and the fact that he's not interested in changing them makes it worse. Because of this, he's often misunderstood as he shows an image of himself that differs from what he really is in terms of personality. At first glance, anyone would assume he's a quiet and antisocial person, when the truth is he's only laid back and lazy. He does enjoy the company of others, and he would get more socially involved in those groups that accept him without demanding too much attention from his part.
At college, Joel is the kind of person to be on good terms with most of his classmates. He has a few friends in every group / class, but he doesn't stick to any group in particular. His short attention span and terrible jokes make him a likeable person to the eyes of most of his mates who he gets along with, but also an annoying and unrespectful brat to the eyes of others. He's well aware of this and he's actually thankful about not having to fake being a nice person in front of everyone. If he ever got bullied because of his personality, he won't hesitate to stand up and confront them. But as long as they let him be, he'd rather stay quiet and let them talk all the shit they want to his back. Finally, although he gets along with several people, he only considers two or three of them as true friends.
A stated above, he really sucks at observing and analyzing himself as much as he does with others. He perceives that there are a few things that he needs to change in order to become a more functional person, but he's not ready to assume that responsibility yet. And the fact that he has reliable friends who he can depend on doesn't help either. He probably fears change the most.
Relationships:
Jessie: They've been best friends for a long time. When Joel finds out he has feelings for him, he unconsciously starts creating excuses in his head to deny everything. Being the natural slow person he is, and having almost no skills in introspection, he spends months living like that; happily convinced that the fact that his phone is full of photos of Jessie is due to his sudden love for photography (?) and nothing else. Luckily for his mental wellbeing and integrity, they start dating later on.
He's usually seen around Jessie, most of the time going unnoticed by others. However, because Jessie is so innocent (and absolutely not because he's jealous, not at all), he's always keeping his guard high around others, especially among strangers. Think of a big, old and grumpy dog taking care of his owner and you get a picture of how things work when they're in public.
Although he does enjoy socializing and being around others, Joel is still an introvert inside. So when he's finally alone with Jessie, he acts more freely and feels comfotable enough to take the rest he needs and recharge his batteries by spending time with him. He enjoys playing with Jessie's hair, especially his bangs.
Felix and Nina: They're both a part of his group of friends. He likes telling Felix a lot of fake facts and teaching him useless things because the other is always so clueless and innocent. He also gets along with Nina although they don't talk so much.
