Friends

I have recently made a decision that I need to put myself out there and make friends.  I moved into a new congregation/ward and found I no longer have the safety net provided by previous friends.  I found people that I want to get to know better - but I'm kind of an intense person.  Right!?!?

I love getting the 411 on the new person or seeing how people respond to various political views or news stories.  But I wonder if I might be the odd person?  People don't ask my opinion on things they usually will just answer my question or just say it doesn't matter and the conversation is over. 

For example, tonight I mentioned to a cast member that I heard he loves rock climbing.  I told him my roommate and I were talking about how we had been before and that I loved rock climbing shoes.  I felt I was providing him a way to talk about something he liked doing and all he said was, "Yep, I can't wait for the weather to warm up."  Done.  Walked away....  I felt like a fool at attempting to make a new friend. 

But, I'm not going to give up on learning how to make friends again.  I have been digging back to my elementary school days to see if there was something taught as a child that would make this easy.  But I don't think playing with Barbies, drawing pictures or kissing tag is really the way to handle things as an adult.  I mean, come on, I would have a few red flags raised if someone played with Barbies!  I tried my hand at various types of drawing, but I feel I'm just a little too abstract and people won't understand what I am trying to show.  (Right Andrew and Erin!?) 

But, kissing tag....  Hmmm.....  I might actually get somewhere with that one.  ;) 

This is a little list of things I am actually afraid I will do or people will think after meeting me:

a)  Look like a girl who doesn't know what she is talking about
b)  Display my endless supply of useless knowledge
c)  Think my love of numbers and my ten-key calculator as odd (well, yeah, they are odd...)
d)  Attempt to use a big girl word (like ambiguous - ha!) in a sentence and not in the right way
e)  Randomly burst into song and sing about whatever I'm doing
f)  Admit to just how much television I watch
g)  Teased for how I say certain words

I have a ton more, but who wants to see a list of a person's insecurities....

So, wish me luck as I head off to meet more people!  Here's to hoping a few may want to stick around and the group of friends will be up and running again! 


Please note:  This post isn't to make anyone feel bad for me.  I am just recognizing one of the many times I will have to start up and make friends all over again.  It's a good thing, just not an easy one!