I Never Learned How to Talk to Anyone
I used to think making friends was just a skill I could pick up, like memorizing formulas or writing essays. There were guides, tips, even research—just follow the steps and you’ll be the person everyone wants to sit next to at dinner. But every time I tried, it felt like there was a glass wall between me and everyone else.
I practiced the questions, the compliments, the nodding and smiling. I remembered names. I tried to be interested in what people loved. But it never felt natural. Every conversation was a performance, and I was always waiting for the moment I’d forget my lines.
No one tells you how lonely it is to do everything right and still feel invisible. I watched people slip into easy laughter, inside jokes, group chats I was never in. I kept thinking, if I just tried harder, if I just said the right thing, I’d finally belong. But the harder I tried, the more I felt like I was on the outside looking in.
Now, I wonder if some people just don’t get the script. Or maybe I spent so long studying how to connect that I forgot what it feels like to actually be seen.
#Education #SocialAnxiety # #CampusIsolation
