I am, by nature, an introvert. A lone wolf. A private person. Unable to form significant relationships with other people. Those are all phrases my guidance counselor uses to describe me.

I have found out, from 17 years of living like that, that I don't particularly like it. I have friends, don't get me wrong. But they are few, and I have started to feel a... longing for contact with other people. While before, I was content to be by myself, to think and imagine and dream without the fear of judgement from my peers. But now I want to share my ideas. I want others to know what I think about, what I feel, what I dream. The only problem is my interpersonal skills. They are severely lacking, to say the least, which is kind of ironic, since my mom is a guidance counselor and my dad a preacher.

I decided that it would be best to just dive in, to put myself in an unfamiliar, uncomfortable situation involving other people. That was three days ago. ...

Swamper