- Oct 11, 2019
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Okay, so I'm going to give a quick into to myself so y'all will know where I'm coming from.
For one, I'm 19 years old. Fresh out of high school since this June, I just started working at my first job at the deli in my local grocery store. I was homeschooled my entire life, and the majority of interactions I had with other kids was online(except for my cousin...but I got tired of being around her as a kid very quickly because she didn't like anything I liked, so we always just did whatever she wanted to do)
Now, here's the thing; now that I'm 'out in the real world' so to speak, I'm...actually not awkward at all, surprisingly. I try to be well-mannered, I'm polite to everyone and very open/talkative. I also really like to joke around and am the type to act as if I've known you for years even if I've known you for a very tiny amount of time. No shy body language, always making eye contact and giving people my undivided attention when they speak. In short; I'm the kind of person to be in a room full of strangers, and am usually the first one to walk up and start a conversation(when it's appropriate, of course).
So I go to this Lutheran church I really love, and most of it happens to be older folk. All of them seem to REALLY really like me and are always saying stuff like 'you're such a blessing to the church' or 'she's so nice to everyone', etc. No problems there--from a young age, I got along extremely well with adults and found it easier to talk to them than other people my age. Problem is, the few young people that are there(and that I meet outside of church sometimes)just don't seem to have any interest in talking to me. Like, I'll try to start conversation and will ask them questions so they'll talk about themselves or talk about some stuff I like, and they're kind of...short with me? And don't seem to want to talk. This is how it is with almost everyone I meet that's around my age. I even asked for the social media info of a few girls close to my age, and none of them seem very interested in getting to know me sadly.
Another case that bothers me is my pastor's sons. I try to be really friendly towards them--one's 15 turning 16 soon and the other is 18--and I joke around with them often during our 'off' time in the teens' Sunday school class. I even have approached them before outside of Sunday school and both seem especially disinterested in talking to me? My parents said it might be because I come off as too dominant/extroverted, and maybe that's true I dunno. If it is, it's probably because I try to be more like 'one of the guys' around dudes because I'm a stern believer that you can only get so friendly with the opposite sex until it becomes a breeding ground for problems.
Anyways, I dunno. It just sucks because I've been trying very hard to make friends IRL and I thought it'd be easier than this. I did manage to get a potential coffee date with a female semi-friend at church who I talked to today. She's the only one who's expressed an interest in being friends with me so far, so hopefully, that goes well?
Any advice is appreciated.
For one, I'm 19 years old. Fresh out of high school since this June, I just started working at my first job at the deli in my local grocery store. I was homeschooled my entire life, and the majority of interactions I had with other kids was online(except for my cousin...but I got tired of being around her as a kid very quickly because she didn't like anything I liked, so we always just did whatever she wanted to do)
Now, here's the thing; now that I'm 'out in the real world' so to speak, I'm...actually not awkward at all, surprisingly. I try to be well-mannered, I'm polite to everyone and very open/talkative. I also really like to joke around and am the type to act as if I've known you for years even if I've known you for a very tiny amount of time. No shy body language, always making eye contact and giving people my undivided attention when they speak. In short; I'm the kind of person to be in a room full of strangers, and am usually the first one to walk up and start a conversation(when it's appropriate, of course).
So I go to this Lutheran church I really love, and most of it happens to be older folk. All of them seem to REALLY really like me and are always saying stuff like 'you're such a blessing to the church' or 'she's so nice to everyone', etc. No problems there--from a young age, I got along extremely well with adults and found it easier to talk to them than other people my age. Problem is, the few young people that are there(and that I meet outside of church sometimes)just don't seem to have any interest in talking to me. Like, I'll try to start conversation and will ask them questions so they'll talk about themselves or talk about some stuff I like, and they're kind of...short with me? And don't seem to want to talk. This is how it is with almost everyone I meet that's around my age. I even asked for the social media info of a few girls close to my age, and none of them seem very interested in getting to know me sadly.
Another case that bothers me is my pastor's sons. I try to be really friendly towards them--one's 15 turning 16 soon and the other is 18--and I joke around with them often during our 'off' time in the teens' Sunday school class. I even have approached them before outside of Sunday school and both seem especially disinterested in talking to me? My parents said it might be because I come off as too dominant/extroverted, and maybe that's true I dunno. If it is, it's probably because I try to be more like 'one of the guys' around dudes because I'm a stern believer that you can only get so friendly with the opposite sex until it becomes a breeding ground for problems.
Anyways, I dunno. It just sucks because I've been trying very hard to make friends IRL and I thought it'd be easier than this. I did manage to get a potential coffee date with a female semi-friend at church who I talked to today. She's the only one who's expressed an interest in being friends with me so far, so hopefully, that goes well?
Any advice is appreciated.