The Life Struggles Of Being Shy

Growing up as a child, I was considered extremely shy by my friends and family. Every time I was around someone I wasn’t really familiar with, I wouldn’t speak or even look in their direction. I wanted to write this article directly for shy people so they don’t feel misunderstood or feel like they are singled out. Trust me, you’re not the only one in this world. There’s plenty of us around even though it’s rare to meet someone who is shy. People always told me that I was eventually going to grow out of it but in actual reality I’m still shy. My shyness was extreme as a little girl but now I am adult, I still have those moments where I feel shy and people may take your shyness in the wrong way so here are the misconceptions people have about shy people.

1. People may consider you to be stuck up or rude which isn’t the truth. You’re just super nervous and don’t really know how to approach or talk to people, so usually you just stick to yourself even though deep down inside of you, you are wanting to connect and talk to people.
2. You always struggled doing projects that involved speaking in front of a class or whole audience. You’ll get in front of them and start stuttering on your words and avoiding eye contact because you do not feel comfortable. Perhaps, you may start to think that people are judging or making fun of you.
3. You always struggled approaching your crush. Even though you are wanting to approach them you always find a reason not to. Every time he or she smiles or look at you, you may turn away so it doesn’t look obvious that you like them or every time you end up somewhere your crush is, you’ll probably find somewhere else to go and sometimes that may comes off as you don’t want to have anything to do with them even though you really do want to be around them.
4. In school, you had to deal with teachers who would purposely call your name out in front of the whole class just because you never really said anything. It’s like why in the world did they call my name even though I didn’t raise my hand up to answer the question. Yes, I know and that’s just annoying especially when someone knows when you are shy and putting you in the spotlight isn’t okay.
5. We all know that shy people are usually quiet most of the time so some people may find you to be boring and doesn’t want to be around you simply because you don’t talk that much. Little do people know, that it takes a minute for us to open up to people so once we open up to a person, you get to see whole different person.
6. You may get invites from friends or family to come out to hang out but don’t want to go because you don’t want to be around a lot of people. Literally, you have to force yourself to go out so you don’t come off as being antisocial or rude. I always struggled going to parties or family gatherings because I was extremely shy. I knew if I go, I would have to socialize with others.
7. You may struggle with asking for help when you need it. You may feel it is hard to approach anyone for help. Maybe, you’re picturing out a whole scenario in your head about approaching a certain person but you never act on it because you’re nervous. You don’t know how a person is going to react if you were to ask him or her. Some people may take it as you being arrogant to when you are not.