How do you make friends? How do you make the ones you really like stick? How do you meet new people?
I am an introvert...an extreme introvert with those that I do not know. I don't like to introduce myself, I hate to have inane small talk and I'm really not that great at making new friends. I was when I was younger, but as I've gotten older I've found that I meet fewer people that I really like enough to become true friends with.
I can count the number of true friends I have on one hand. I love each of them dearly and wouldn't trade them for the world...they all know this. My longest of these I met right before high school when we played soccer together. We may not talk often, but we are always there for one another. The next one in line I met through our oldest sons. They looked so much alike that their father's actually confused them when picking them up at daycare. We bonded over our shared love of children...and frustration with husbands. The next two are probably the two who know me the best in the world. We met through work and quickly became inseparable. Even though we all lives hundreds of miles apart now, we stay in touch regularly and are even planning a girls weekend for just the three of us. The final person in my list is my husband. A man I trust with my life.
Outside of these five people, I have acquaintances. People I know through my kids, church, our dog, or my husband. No one that I am close to though. No one to hang out with on a weekend for girl's time that lives close to me. No one to meet for coffee or manis and pedis. No one I can meet for lunch. This is really sad. I would love to have someone who lives near me that I could do these things with, but how do you make new friends?
I've tried making new friends over the internet, but I always find a reason not to like them as much as I did when I first introduced myself. I try to find them at church, but feel like a failure who never quite meets their expectations. Maybe I try to hard. I even started selling a product as a part time job in hopes of meeting some new people, that hasn't worked for me either.
For those of you out there who are introverts as well, how have you made new friends? Tell me your secrets, give me ideas of where to go or what to do. Share with me please. I'd love to say that all those people on my facebook page are true friends, but in all honesty a large majority of them I barely even know, and those I've reached out to and tried to encourage a friendship don't always seem so keen.
At any rate, I'd love to hear your feedback and test out some of your great ideas!
I am an introvert...an extreme introvert with those that I do not know. I don't like to introduce myself, I hate to have inane small talk and I'm really not that great at making new friends. I was when I was younger, but as I've gotten older I've found that I meet fewer people that I really like enough to become true friends with.
I can count the number of true friends I have on one hand. I love each of them dearly and wouldn't trade them for the world...they all know this. My longest of these I met right before high school when we played soccer together. We may not talk often, but we are always there for one another. The next one in line I met through our oldest sons. They looked so much alike that their father's actually confused them when picking them up at daycare. We bonded over our shared love of children...and frustration with husbands. The next two are probably the two who know me the best in the world. We met through work and quickly became inseparable. Even though we all lives hundreds of miles apart now, we stay in touch regularly and are even planning a girls weekend for just the three of us. The final person in my list is my husband. A man I trust with my life.
Outside of these five people, I have acquaintances. People I know through my kids, church, our dog, or my husband. No one that I am close to though. No one to hang out with on a weekend for girl's time that lives close to me. No one to meet for coffee or manis and pedis. No one I can meet for lunch. This is really sad. I would love to have someone who lives near me that I could do these things with, but how do you make new friends?
I've tried making new friends over the internet, but I always find a reason not to like them as much as I did when I first introduced myself. I try to find them at church, but feel like a failure who never quite meets their expectations. Maybe I try to hard. I even started selling a product as a part time job in hopes of meeting some new people, that hasn't worked for me either.
For those of you out there who are introverts as well, how have you made new friends? Tell me your secrets, give me ideas of where to go or what to do. Share with me please. I'd love to say that all those people on my facebook page are true friends, but in all honesty a large majority of them I barely even know, and those I've reached out to and tried to encourage a friendship don't always seem so keen.
At any rate, I'd love to hear your feedback and test out some of your great ideas!
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