afraid

[ceez]

so I've been thinking that having some lgbt friends off the internet would help me a lot. I've been searching for a way to meet some and found a site where you can join groups and this site has lgbt groups. I joined two of them but now I'm terrified of going to the meet ups. I'm a pessimist so I always think of the worst possible thing happening, like no one will like me because I'm shy or think I'm weird because I'm quiet or I could see someone I know there which I know I shouldn't care about but I can't help but to care about it because I don't like confrontation and I don't do well at all with stress plus my family and friends are conservative homophobes so I have all that to worry about and now I'm thinking if I do work up enough courage to go that I won't have a good time because I would be paranoid the whole time.

I wanted to get that off my chest, I know I should grow a pair and go but I'm too much of a coward. has anyone else been to a meetup before?

[LJay]

What is the site, ceez? I keep looking for one of these that will fit.

[palbert]

What is the site, ceez? I keep looking for one of these that will fit.

Isn't meetup.com typical of those sites. Heard good things about Meetup.

[Camfer]

so I've been thinking that having some lgbt friends off the internet would help me a lot. I've been searching for a way to meet some and found a site where you can join groups and this site has lgbt groups. I joined two of them but now I'm terrified of going to the meet ups. I'm a pessimist so I always think of the worst possible thing happening, like no one will like me because I'm shy or think I'm weird because I'm quiet or I could see someone I know there which I know I shouldn't care about but I can't help but to care about it because I don't like confrontation and I don't do well at all with stress plus my family and friends are conservative homophobes so I have all that to worry about and now I'm thinking if I do work up enough courage to go that I won't have a good time because I would be paranoid the whole time.

I wanted to get that off my chest, I know I should grow a pair and go but I'm too much of a coward. has anyone else been to a meetup before?

When you go, I guarantee you someone will not like you, someone will think you're weird, and you'll probably see someone you loosely know. None of that should stop you. Few people like confrontation, but why do you think you'll find that? I highly doubt it. Anyone there will be GLBTIQ and any other initial you can come up with. So meeting them can hardly cause you problems in your assumedly closeted life.

Life is pretty dull without pushing past your social anxieties. You have to take risk to reap rewards. Looking at this scenario, you have to much to gain and very little to lose other than your imagined fantasies of rejection and failure. Yep, grow a pair and do it. You'll be fine.

I've done all sorts of meet ups and met some great guys and some total idiots. Overall it was positive.

Do you have a gay friend you can take with you? Sometimes having one person you know can put you more at ease. Even if you have to go solo, just do it. By the end of the first meetup you'll probably have met one or more people you can relate to on some level.

Let us know how it goes. When is the next get together?

[ceez]

@LJay and palbert - yup it's meetup.com

@Camfer - unfortunately I don't have any lgbt friends but that's part of the reason why I want to go to make some lgbt friends. the next meet up might be at one of my favorite amusement parks so I really do want to go.

[cunningluvr]

Go. You can count on having at least one thing in common with everyone there. And smile.

[CellarDweller]

go for it ceez!!!

[Camfer]

Who's in the VA area and wants to go to an amusement park with Ceez?

[ceez]

well now you're just trying to make me blush :redface:

[SHOman93]

What part of VA?