Oh, hello! Tonight, it”s Sugar-Free Pecan Shortbread cookies, and club soda. The cookies are a little stale, but you don’t mind, right?
Remember when you were little? And you saw another little girl or boy who was about your age? You thought nothing of just going up to them and playing and giggling and chatting and being instant friends. There was no judgement, no ulterior motive, no guile.
Remember when you got to high school? All the cliques? One day you are BFFs with this group of girls (or boys) and the next they have “turned” on you and talk about you badly behind your back and laugh at you. There is one-ups-manship; judgement; cattiness.
Me? I am NOT GOOD at this whole making friends thing. It’s not that I don’t want friends, but I’m in a viscious circle – having friends and someone to hang out with is great, but I’m fairly private too, so opening up to people is hard for me. That tends to push people away. And it starts all over again. *sigh*
As part of my letting go of the past and not wallowing in the crap, I’m looking at why I do the things I do. I’ve had “friends” in the past who I thought I could trust. (And this was WAY past HS). And suddenly, with no explanation, I’ve been shut out. It hurts when that happens. I wracked my brain to figure out what happened, and to this day, I honestly have no idea. This has happened more than once. As a result, I have trust issues. I don’t want to have trust issues. I want to have friends.
I just still always have that back in HS feeling where there is the “cool kids” group, and I am on the outside, looking in with envy. Mostly, this is due to my crippling insecurity. What if I say something stoopid? What if they laugh? What if they talk about me after I walk away? Also? I am very shy by nature. Most people do not believe that about me at all. But, I find being social exhausting! If I make myself the center of attention, I’m okay with it. But if someone else puts the spotlight on me, I am MISERABLE!! I want to crawl under a table and hide. Then… once I am comfortable with a sitch, I’m good. My confidence level jumps from -27 to around 2.
I would love to have a handfull of friends with whom I could be completely comfortable, could tell anything to, would do anything for or would do anything for me. My friend Meffa is that to a point, but I hold myself back. I know I do it. I hate that I do it. The K2Kid is another.
So, I’m going to ask you a favor. As a way to help me get out of the past, if you are talking to me, and feel me pulling away, call me on it. Let me know I’m safe. It really doesn’t have anything to do with something you’ve done. It’s all me. I’m owning this. And I’m asking for help with it (another thing that is EXTREMELY hard for me to do.) Thank you in advance.
Baby steps, right?
MagAndMoo's Blog 
lesleykim
Good for you for reaching out!!
The older we get, the harder it is to make new friends. There aren’t as many people around us as, say, in high school, and most people that are have busy, established lives. I think it happens slowly, but it can still happen. It just takes work and risk and trust and hope. Mo is the best girlfriend I’ve ever had and sometimes I think we’re kinda a miracle because we are both slow to trust and let people in, awkward with exposing our inner selves and sometimes walled in. Yet over the years we forged ahead and learned to rise above our individual hangups and issues and have formed this amazing friendship despite ourselves! It can be done and it isn’t always easy but boy is it worth it. I think if you keep reaching out, you will find most women feel just like you do (we’re all insecure and awkward and worried about the impression we’re making) (!!) and you might be surprised the way people will reach back.
And what Tricia says: YOU’RE AWESOME.
tricia
I can totally relate can you please move to NY so I can take you for coffee? You’re awesome!
magandmoo
*hugs* thank you. you are too. 🙂
Mo
My husband is more social and outgoing so through him I have a lot of people I suppose I could call friends, but they feel more like acquaintances. These are people who are fun to hang out with but they aren’t the people I’m really close to, the people I need because they “get me.”
I can count on one hand (without using all my fingers) how many really good, truly best friends I have. Some of it is because of insecurity, some of it is trust. Sometimes I wonder if it’s normal or natural, but if I’m okay with it, I guess it’s okay.
Sarah
I do the EXACT same thing. I recently started going back to school (beauty school, girls there seem about 10,000 times worse than HS girls) and I’ve been going through the same exact thing. I talk to someone and when I walk away I’m afraid that they are either laughing or talking about me.
I think it’s a matter of trying to find that one person who you can connect with. Once you get comfortable with the one the rest seem easy. Right?