Were you ever shy about who you are when it came to other people? Are you good at making friends? Is it easy or difficult for you? Think about where you are with your friends now, how long did it take for you to feel comfortable about being yourself around them? Were they excepting?
It seems like it is a challenge for some to get to the point where they are truly comfortable with others, while for others it seems to come so naturally for them. No one truly understands why it might take some longer than others, but I feel like it has to do with the people who you are with. Some people are easy to get along with while others you're trying to see if you can actually be their friend or just someone you talk to for a day or so. It's almost like your testing the waters with them at first.
For myself, it takes a while for me to feel comfortable with people. I am a shy person, although people don't believe me. They feel like I am a confident person and that I don't care what others think of me. They always say, "you make friends so easily." which might seem true but it's not. However, the truth of the matter is that its only true when I have known you for a while. I understand that it might look like it because I can talk to people easily, but it actually takes awhile a lot of the time. It takes time to actually start calling you my friend and even then you might not know the real me.
I'm the kind of person who will talk none stop, but for me, that's just me being nervous which people might not know. They may find it weird or annoying but when I meet you for the first time you will either get the quiet me or the shy me. One will talk none stop while the other won't talk much at all. People always tell me that I should just be myself and I will be fine. However, that is easier said than done. Besides that is me being myself. For me, it's hard to tell who actually likes me or not and sometimes I just start thinking to myself that they don't like me at all, even if it's not true at all.
After we become friends it still takes me a while to feel fully comfortable around you at all, which I understand might sound like a surprise to people, but it is true. There are ways to tell if I am comfortable with you. Which are; me feeling more open with you, acting totally crazy and if I sing in front of you.
For me the biggest indication of me being comfortable is me singing in front of you, even if I don't think you can hear me. For me, singing helps me tell you that I feel comfortable around you as well as that I actually like you as a person. Dancing is right there next to it. Like I've said I am shy and I only dance and sing if I like the people I'm around and we are just having fun.
With time I have come to the realization that it's hard to find people you feel comfortable enough to just be yourself. However, I have found people who let me be who I am. Sure it takes time before I feel 100 percent comfortable but when I am you will know right away. My coworkers have watched me go from someone who is quiet and keeps to myself to someone who is no longer afraid to say what she has to say, most of the time. Same goes for my friends.
Places for me that I feel most comfortable is when I'm dancing with my friends at Mishnock Barn. that is somewhere I have fully come out of my shell, at least I feel like I have. Some might agree and some might now, but I will forever be grateful for being introduced to line dancing as well as the friends I have made through dancing. They made me feel like family as soon as I first walked in and they continue to do so every week for me.
