It's harder to make new friends when you're all grown up ( or trying tobe)


Today down by the beach I watched my 4 yr old niece make some new friends by standing by a group of kids in her swimsuit while casually playing her recorder badly. Five minutes later they were all playing together.

I can't help thinking that life would be a lot easier for me if I only possessed that same easy confidence now. Mind you if I was to don a bikini and casually play a recorder whilst leaning on a nearby pole I very much doubt people would be asking me to come hang out. It would be like a scene out of anchorman except the laughter wouldn't be the good kind.

I find there's a sort of awkwardness to meeting new people when you're wondering what to say and what to hold back on. And if you're like me you'll get nervous and make an inappropriate joke that not everyone will laugh at. Time has erased that self belief and the assumption that people will like me. As adulthood dawned I came to realize that not everyone is going to like me and it won't always be my fault, people bring a lot of their own baggage into potential friendships but I've also learned that its okay to not be liked by everyone. It doesn't have to define who you are. 

But it doesn't help with the nervous butterflies when 
I walk into a room of people I hardly know. And the fear of not being liked and the implied rejection that comes hand in hand with that. As an adult making new friends is hard. On some level we are all this eager four year old looking to join in but the rules have changed and suddenly 
Life is a lot more complicated 

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